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Rory McIlroy celebrated St Patrick\u2019s Day in style with victory in the prestigious Players Championship after a thrilling final round at Sawgrass.<\/p>\nRory McIlroy celebrated St Patrick\u2019s Day in style with victory in the prestigious Players Championship after a thrilling final round at Sawgrass.<\/p>\n
McIlroy recovered from an early double bogey to card a closing 70 and finish 16 under par, one shot ahead of former Ryder Cup captain Jim Furyk, who had threatened to become the oldest winner in tournament history.<\/p>\n
Furyk set the clubhouse target after a 67 that included two birdies in the last three holes, the 48-year-old \u2013 who is less than a month older than 2005 champion Fred Funk \u2013 hitting a brilliant approach to just three feet at the last.<\/p>\n
However, McIlroy bounced back from a bogey on the 14th with birdies at the next two holes to move back into the lead and safely negotiated the treacherous 17th and 18th to secure a 15th PGA Tour title after starting the season with five consecutive top-six finishes.<\/p>\n
On his tournament debut, England\u2019s Eddie Pepperell shared third place with Venezuela\u2019s Jhonattan Vegas on 14 under, both players holing improbable birdie putts on the 17th in matching rounds of 66.<\/p>\n
England\u2019s Tommy Fleetwood, who began the day in joint second with McIlroy, gave himself an outside chance of forcing a play-off with his Ryder Cup team-mate with an eagle on the 16th, only to promptly hit his tee shot on the 17th into the water.<\/p>\n
McIlroy told Sky Sports: \u201cIt\u2019s very special. I just tried to treat it like any other day. Even though I\u2019ve had all those close calls this year they didn\u2019t mean anything.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf anything they were good for me, I called them \u2018remote misses\u2019, it gives you even more hope to go forward and go again. I think all those experiences this year led me to this point and ultimately they were good for me because it got me over the line today.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe birdie on 12 was huge to give me a bit of momentum and the final few holes were tough. To get that birdie on 15 after the dropped shot on 14 was massive.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew 16 was a good chance and to par the last two holes and hit three good shots when I needed to, that gives me a lot of confidence going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
“I think all those experiences this year led me to this point and ultimately they were good.”<\/p>\n
The victory comes just weeks before McIlroy will attempt to win the Masters and become only the sixth player to complete a career grand slam.<\/p>\n
The 29-year-old added: \u201cIf I hadn\u2019t have won today I would have said I don\u2019t need a win going into Augusta, but it\u2019s very nice to get a win, especially doing it on this golf course, honestly a golf course that played a little bit similar to the way Augusta will play in a few weeks\u2019 time.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can take a lot from this. It\u2019s taken me a few weeks to get to this point but I feel like I\u2019m playing some of the best golf of my life right now and I just need to keep going with it and keep doing the same things.\u201d<\/p>\n