Rory McIlroy leaps into FedEx Cup playoffs contention with Deutsche Bank win

By Australian Golf Digest

By Evin Priest

With a new putter and coach, Rory McIlroy aimed to turn his recent form slump around by The Masters next April. The world No.3, however, didn’t expect drastic changes to pay dividends as early as the Deutsche Bank Championship.

Particularly after dropping four shots in his opening three holes at TPC Boston, the Northern Irishman thought the FedEx Cup playoffs’ second event was done and dusted.

Yet much to the dismay of Australia’s Adam Scott – who fired a scintillating final round of 6-under par 65 – McIlroy found something special and proceeded to play the next 69 holes in 19-under par, claiming a two-shot victory over 54-hole leader Paul Casey, of England.

Scott opened and closed the Deutsche Bank well, with a 10-under par total from rounds one and four, but two average middle scores of 71 and 70 weren’t enough to match it with the two Europeans come Monday. Scott  finished as the leading Aussie in Boston, with world No.1 Jason Day down the leaderboard at 8-under par and in a share of 15th place, while Marc Leishman was five shots back, tied for 46th. Aaron Baddeley rounded out the green and gold contingent that made the 1-under-par cut line but he carded a disappointing 3-over par total to finish T67.

“I knew my game was in good shape,” McIlroy said, who recently hired a new putting coach in Phil Kenyon. “I just needed to do something with the putting. I found something. I still need to keep going with it. “It’s definitely not the finished article, but it’s a big step in the right direction.”

The four-time Major winner now goes from TPC Boston to Crooked Stick, the same path travelled in 2012 when he won the middle two legs of the FedExCup Playoffs. That year, he was the dominant force in golf, a five-win season that included the PGA Championship.

Watch some of McIlroy’s highlights from his final round below courtesy of the PGA Tour: