He had to fight it out but on the second nine holes of the final day at Congaree Golf Club in Ridgeland, South Carolina, the northern irish Rory McIlroyleading with a one-shot advantage, this Sunday regained the world leader -this is for the ninth time- thanks to his victory -the 23rd on the PGA Tour- in CJ Cupa test in which he defended -and did so with apparent success- winning the title in 2021.
Jon Rahmwho became the provisional leader after finishing hole 5 thanks to three birdies, had to succumb to the deployment, especially on the greens, of the Briton, number 1 in the FedEx Cup almost two months ago and the fittest player at the moment.
The Basque made 3 putts on the 6th hole and there he turned around a bit, although a birdie at the 12th gave him confidence. However, another bogey on the par 3 14th left him 3 shots off the lead with little ground to make up.
McIlroy, who had four birdies between 12 and 16, passed sentence and left the American with no choice but Rahm Kurt Kitayama. However, Rory’s two bogeys on 17 and 18 gave him ‘some’ excitement at the end, winning by one shot.
It was the 17th time McIlroy has emerged as the leader or co-leader after 54 holes, converting to victory 10 times on Sunday, the last this year at the Canadian Open, where he is also defending his title. A few weeks later, at the British in Saint Andrews, Rory finished 3rd beating Australian Cameron Smith. Also note that this is the sixth straight season that Rory has won at least one PGA Tour tournament. This CJ Cup is scored for 2022-2023.
Rhm, winner this year of the Mexico Open and Spanish Openand highlighted on the second day with a round of 62 strokes, he tried, but in the end he threw in the towel, the Basque was powerless and the lack of luck in the putt this time, ended up ruining his options in signing a round of 69 strokes for 270 overall, 14 under, tied for 4th with three from McIlroy (67 for 267, -18).
Final standings:
267 Rory McIlroy (GBR)
268 Kurt Kitayama (USA)
269 KH Lee (Cds)
270 Jon Rahm (Eng)
Tommy Fleetwood (GBR)
272 Aaron Wise (USA)
Source: La Verdad
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
