RORY MCILROY SHOT a final round of 66 to win The CJ Cup in Las Vegas, claiming his 20th title on the PGA Tour.
McIlroy began the day two shots behind overnight leader Rickie Fowler but ended up on -25 after an excellent final round, finishing one shot clear of Collin Morikawa, who hit a 62 to move to -24.
He was in second place on his own with Keith Mitchell and Fowler joint third on -22.
It is McIlroy’s second win in the 2021 calendar year after taking the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow back in May.
A winner in Las Vegas. 🏆@McIlroyRory captures win No. 20 at THE CJ CUP @ SUMMIT. pic.twitter.com/ULt8t2H686
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) October 18, 2021
Shane Lowry carded a final round of 64 to finish on -12 in a tie for 54th. Lowry had four birdies on his front nine – on the 4th, 5th, 7th and 8th – before matching that on the back nine as he picked up shots on the 13th, 14th, 16th and 18th holes.
McIlroy was playing for the first time since his disappointing performance in Europe’s recent Ryder Cup defeat in Wisconsin last month – an arduous week which famously left the 32-year-old in tears in his closing interview – and said the experience had helped turn him around.
“It was huge. It really was. I was really disappointed with how I played,” he said in his greenside interview with PGA Tour.
“There was a lot of reflection in the last couple of weeks. This is what I need to do. I need to play golf, I need to simplify it. I need to just be me. I think for the last few months I was maybe trying to be someone else to try and get better.
“I realised that being me is enough, and being me I can do things like this.”
McIlroy scored only one point at Whistling Straits – his lowest haul from any of his six Ryder Cup appearances – amid only the second loss he has suffered for Team Europe.
He was even left out of the line-ups for the Saturday morning foursomes, before being recalled for the afternoon only to lose heavily with Ian Poulter, four and three, to Dustin Johnson and Morikawa. McIlroy earned his lone point through his consolation Sunday win over Xander Schauffele, when the US had already all but secured victory.
After his CJ Cup win, McIlroy revealed he had almost decided to miss the tournament – and not play again this year – amid the depths of his Ryder Cup despair.
“On the Saturday night of the Ryder Cup … I was done with golf. I didn’t want to see golf again until 2022,” he told reporters.
“Sunday night at the Ryder Cup I thought, ‘Go to Vegas, go to CJ and try to build on this little bit of a breakthrough that I’ve had.”
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