Broken driver and barefoot recovery mark adventurous final round for McIlroy in Denver
A barefoot Rory McIlroy plays for the edge of the water at the ninth
Rory McIlroy endured another eventful day as he finished with a rollercoaster 71 in the BMW Championship in Denver.
As US Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley closed with a 72 to win the $4 million top prize by a shot for Sam Burns, Ludvig Aberg and Adam Scott on 12-under, McIlroy had to finish with just 13 clubs and take off his shoes as socks after snapping his driver on the ninth.
Unlike his fit of pique on Friday, when he tossed his driver into a pond at the 17th in disgust, the Holywood star was leaning too hard on the shaft as he bent down to pick up his tee after another miss to the right and it snapped under his weight.
His ball finished on the right edge of a stream, inches from the water, forcing the Co Down man to take off his shoes and socks to play his approach.
He hit a towering wedge to 27 feet and two-putted for par to turn in one over but played the back nine in an adventurous two-under, finishing with three birdies in his last five holes.
He tied for 11th on six-under but fell from fifth to sixth in the FedEx Cup standings heading into this week鈥檚 Tour Championship in Atlanta.
馃槻 Rory McIlroy driver snap 鈽狅笍 @TrackingRory
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) August 25, 2024
pic.twitter.com/XGYafvuJda
It means he will start his week at East Lake on four-under-par, six strokes behind number one ranked Scottie Scheffler, who tied for 33rd on one over after a 72 for his worst result since he tied for 42nd at the US Open.
Scheffler will have a two-stroke lead in Atlanta over Xander Schauffele, who needed to win at Castle Pines to claim the top spot but shot 71 to finish tied for fifth.
Hideki Matsuyama will start three shots behind Scheffler in third providing he recovers from the lower back injury that forced him to withdraw after round one in Denver.
Rory on the rocks!
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 25, 2024
An impressive balancing act from @McIlroyRory. https://t.co/swKLs0kxxS pic.twitter.com/85R91TUnCj
Bradley will start just four shots behind Scheffler after he closed with a 72 to win his seventh PGA Tour title by a shot and jump from 50th to fourth in the standings.
As for Shane Lowry, he shot 71 to tie for 13th on five-under but dropped two spots to 13th in the FedEx Cup, meaning he will start his first Tour Championship in three-under, seven shots behind Scheffler.
Keegan Bradley (Winner/-12)
Picks up his seventh PGA TOUR victory in his 352nd start at the age of 38 years, 2 months, 18 days
PGA TOUR victories (7): 2011 CJ CUP Byron Nelson, 2011 PGA Championship, 2012 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, 2018 BMW Championship, 2022 ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP, 2023 Travelers Championship, 2024 BMW Championship
Wins in back-to-back seasons for the first time since his first two seasons on TOUR (2011, 2012)
20th multiple winner of the event; wins in 2018 and 2024 account for his only two top-10 finishes in 12 starts
Entered the week No. 50 in the FedExCup and moves to No. 4 to advance to the TOUR Championship for the sixth time
Improves to 2-for-7 with the 54-hole lead/co-lead (T2/2012 Genesis Invitational, 2nd/2013 CJ CUP Byron Nelson, 2nd/2021 Valspar Championship, T2/2022 Truist Championship, Won/2023 Travelers Championship, T2/2024 Sony Open in Hawaii, Won/2024 BMW Championship)
23rd third-round leader/co-leader to win a stroke-play event this season; first 54-hole leader to win the BMW Championship since Patrick Cantlay in 2022
Wins for the first time in 11 attempts when holding the first-round lead/co-lead
Fourth 18-hole leader to win a stroke-play event this season and the first at the event since Justin Thomas (2019)
Led the field in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green (11.192) and was second in Strokes Gained: Approach the Green (6.917)
Wins on the same day as fellow United States Presidents Cup captain鈥檚 assistant Stewart Cink (The Ally Challenge/PGA TOUR Champions)
Additional Player Notes
路 Adam Scott finishes runner-up for the second time in his last four starts (Genesis Scottish Open) and for the 16thtime in his career; moves from No. 41 to No. 14 in the FedExCup, reaching the TOUR Championship for the 10th time in the FedExCup era (since 2007) and first since 2022; failed to qualify for the FedExCup Playoffs last season for the first time in his career
路 Sam Burns turns in the round of the day with a 7-under 65 and picks up the fourth runner-up finish of his career
路 2023 RSM Classic champion Ludvig 脜berg finishes runner-up for the fourth time in his career, with three coming this season (AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Masters Tournament, BMW Championship)
Miscellaneous Notes
路 The six automatic qualifiers for the U.S. Presidents Cup Team are Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, Wyndham Clark, Patrick Cantlay, Sahith Theegala
路 The six automatic qualifiers for the International Presidents Cup Team are Hideki Matsuyama, Sungjae Im, Adam Scott, Tom Kim, Jason Day, Byeong Hun An
Notable finishes:
Two-time major winner in 2024 Xander Schauffele (T5)
Three-time FedExCup Champion Rory McIlroy (T11)
Denver, Colorado native Wyndham Clark (T13)
Defending BMW Championship and FedExCup champion Viktor Hovland (T26)
FedExCup leader and World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler (T33)
Three rookies in the field: Max Greyserman (T28), Nick Dunlap (T31), Matthieu Pavon (T33)
FedExCup Playoffs notes
The top-30 players in the FedExCup standings after the BMW Championship advance to the TOUR Championship
One rookie advances to the TOUR Championship: Matthieu Pavon
One first-year PGA TOUR member advances to the TOUR Championship: Robert MacIntyre
Nine players will make their debut at the TOUR Championship this week: Ludvig 脜berg, Shane Lowry, Byeong Hun An, Akshay Bhatia, Robert MacIntyre, Matthieu Pavon, Taylor Pendrith, Aaron Rai, Christiaan Bezuidenhout.
Top 30 players in the FedExCup and FedExCup Starting Strokes at the TOUR Championship
FedExCup
Player Starting Strokes
Scottie Scheffler -10
Xander Schauffele -8
Hideki Matsuyama -7
Keegan Bradley -6
Ludvig 脜berg -5
Rory McIlroy -4
Collin Morikawa -4
Wyndham Clark -4
Sam Burns -4
Patrick Cantlay -4
Sungjae Im -3
Sahith Theegala -3
Shane Lowry -3
Adam Scott -3
Tony Finau -3
Byeong Hun An -2
Viktor Hovland -2
Russell Henley -2
Akshay Bhatia -2
Robert MacIntyre -2
Billy Horschel -1
Tommy Fleetwood -1
Sepp Straka -1
Matthieu Pavon -1
Taylor Pendrith -1
Chris Kirk Even
Tom Hoge Even
Aaron Rai Even
Christiaan Bezuidenhout Even
Justin Thomas Even
