Rory shows Irish flourish in great finish

McIlroy fashions brilliant final round to hold off pack at Sawgrass

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida - Rory McIlroy celebrated St. Patrick's Day in style by becoming the first player from Northern Ireland to win The Players Championship, emerging as the last man standing to edge Jim Furyk by one stroke in Ponte Vedra, Florida on Sunday.

On a day when 15 players at one stage were within two shots of the lead, McIlroy eventually emerged from the pack, overcoming an early double-bogey by displaying enough cool to hang tough before moving in for the proverbial kill.

McIlroy carded 2-under 70 at the famous TPC Sawgrass course in Ponte Vedra Beach to win a championship that was first held in 1974, when it was won by Jack Nicklaus.

McIlroy finished at 16-under 272 to edge American Furyk, who with a gimme birdie on the final hole threatened to become the event's oldest winner at age 48.

"Sawgrass and I didn't have the greatest relationship starting off," said McIlroy, referring to missed cuts in his first three appearances from 2009-11.

"It's a massive win on a course where I've had mixed results. I had to show a lot of character out there. Any time I looked at the leaderboard I was pleasantly surprised I hadn't fallen two or three shots behind.

"That gave me a little bit of encouragement to keep going and play a great back nine. I am just thankful that it was my turn this week."

With Furyk already in the clubhouse, the 29-year-old McIlroy knew what he had to do on the final three holes.

After a birdie on the par-4 15th, he used his power to reach the par-5 16th in two shots and made a two-putt birdie to take the lead.

McIlroy then safely negotiated the water-lined final two holes with tap-in pars to clinch the most prestigious tournament outside the four majors.

Furyk shot 67 to finish alone at 15-under.

'A little disappointment'

"There's a little disappointment, thinking maybe I played well enough to win," said Furyk. "Rory obviously felt differently."

It was Furyk's 31st runner-up finish on the PGA Tour, the same number as Tiger Woods who has also won 80 times compared to Furyk's 17 victories.

England's Eddie Pepperell (66) and Venezuela's Jhonattan Vegas (66) finished two strokes behind McIlroy in a tie for third.

Pepperrell and Vegas sank monster birdies on the par-3 17th. Pepperell drained and up-and-down 50-footer before Vegas one-upped him with a 70-footer.

Overnight leader Jon Rahm of Spain floundered, making three bogeys over the first four holes and compounding his misery by dunking his tee shot into the water on the par-3 17th.

He shot 76 and finished tied for 12th at 11 under.

McIlroy's win came after close calls in all five of his previous starts this year.

He will head to next month's Masters brimming with confidence, needing a victory at Augusta National to complete the coveted grand slam of all four modern majors.

"I'm just really proud of the way I played the last few holes," he said.

"I was thinking, 'Why not me? This is my tournament and I've got to finish it off.'

"I kept telling myself on the way to the 17th tee, just make three more good swings, that's all you need to do and this thing is yours.

"To step up and make those three good swings, it's very satisfying knowing that it's in there when it needs to be."

Thoughts turn to another type of green

Rory McIlroy has won four of the five biggest events in golf after his one-stroke victory at The Players Championship in Florida on Sunday and is slowly turning his sights on the fifth - next month's Masters at Augusta National.

A victory at the April 11-14 tournament would make him the sixth man to complete the modern grand slam of all four majors - the Masters, US Open, British Open and PGA Championship - and the second this century after Tiger Woods.

McIlroy, who won his last major in 2014, has had four cracks at completing the grand slam, but has never gone to Augusta with quite the sort of consistent form he has displayed so far this year.

The Northern Irishman had not finished worse than sixth in five starts and he finally closed the deal on St. Patrick's Day at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach.

He also vaulted to fourth in the world rankings, his highest position in almost 18 months, and collected more than $2 million for the victory, but it did not take long for talk to turn to another type of green - namely the fabled Green Jacket.

"If I go to Augusta with a similar game to what I have now and the attitude I've shown over the first few events of the year, I think I'll have a great chance," he said.

If nothing else, Sunday's victory will silence the critics who had observed that McIlroy for all his consistency had appeared to have lost the closer's instinct, having not won for almost a year.

"Even with some noise around me - 'He can't close, he can't play on Sundays', blah, blah, blah... - I've just got to do my thing," he said.

"And if I go and I concentrate on me, control what I can do, good golf and good attitude takes care of the rest. But I don't want to look too far ahead.

"I really want to enjoy this. I've actually got an interior design meeting tomorrow morning to pick out some stuff for our new house, so that's the next port of call.

"I'll enjoy it, then turn my attention to what's coming up in a few days' time."

Reuters