Rory back on track with Deutsche Bank victory

Rory McIlroy fired a final round of 65 to overtake Paul Casey and win the Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston. It was his first PGA Tour victory of 2016.

Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland came from six shots behind England’s Paul Casey to claim a superb victory in the Deutsche Bank Championship and to climb to fourth place on the FedExCup standings.

McIlroy was four-over-par through his first three holes on day one at TPC Boston, but he rallied to shoot level par on Friday and followed that with rounds of 67, 66 and 65 to post a four-round total of 15-under-par and to win by two from Paul Casey who struggled to a closing 73 in testing, windy conditions.

McIlroy began the final round, contested early on Labor Day Monday due to the threat of strengthening winds later in the afternoon, six shots behind Casey. But, while the Englishman stuttered at the start of the round, McIlroy raced to the turn and made three straight birdies from the 7th to take the lead. He gained another stroke at the 12th and then sealed the tournament with a birdie on the par-5 18th. Casey had a 60-foot eagle putt on the home hole to force a playoff and he had a good run at it, knowing he was clear of USPGA champion Jimmy Walker in third place. The eagle effort didn’t drop, however, and Casey had to settle for solo second spot.

3 Talking points from the Deutsche Bank Championship

1 – This was Rory McIlroy’s 20th tournament victory as a professional but his first on the PGA Tour this season. With the win he has climbed back to third on the Official World Golf Ranking. Using a new putter and a new putting coach, he looked far more comfortable with the flat stick at TPC Boston. “Things can turn around very quickly in this game,” he said afterwards.

Rory on becoming a champion:

2 – Paul Casey opened with three straight 66s at TPC Boston but, in blustery conditions on Monday, he struggled to find his best game. Looking for his first PGA Tour victory since 2009, he fought hard for his closing 73 and did well to secure second place on his own. With that finish he moved to 10th on the FedEx Cup standings and will play in the Tour Championship for the first time since 2010.

3 – The top-70 on the FedEx Cup standings after the Deutsche Bank will go on to contest the BMW Championship next week. Those who moved up from outside the top-70 to secure their place at Crooked Stick were Billy Hurley III, David Hearn, Hudson Swafford, Vaughn Taylor, Chris Kirk and Marc Leishman. Those dropping out were: Ricky Barnes, Jerry Kelly, Martin Laird, Johnson Wagner, Colt Knost and Chez Reavie.

Deutsche Bank Championship TPC Boston, Norton, Massachusetts Sep 2-5 Purse $8,500,000, par 71

1    Rory McIlroy (NIR)    71    67    66    65    269    $1,530,000 2    Paul Casey (Eng)        66    66    66    73    271    $918,000 3    Jimmy Walker (USA)    68    64    70    70    272    $578,000 4    Adam Scott (Aus)        67    71    70    65    273    $408,000 T5    Fabian Gomez (Arg)    66    71    68    69    274    $310,250 T5    James Hahn (USA)    65    74    66    69    274    $310,250 T5    Patrick Reed (USA)    68    67    70    69    274    $310,250 T8    Kevin Chappell (USA)    67    64    71    73    275    $212,500 T8    David Hearn (Can)    68    68    69    70    275    $212,500 T8    Billy Hurley III (USA)    67    69    69    70    275    $212,500 T8    Dustin Johnson (USA)    68    66    75    66    275    $212,500 T8    Jason Kokrak (USA)    70    68    71    66    275    $212,500 T8    Ryan Moore (USA)    65    70    68    72    275    $212,500 T8    Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) 71    69    64    71    275    $212,500

Note: Player score in bold signifies Titleist ball usage