• That breakthrough at Whistling Straits was McIlroy’s consolation singles win over Xander Schauffele, when the US had already all-but-secured victory.
• McIlroy carded a final-round six-under-par 66 to finish 25 under, securing a one-shot victory in the CJ Cup and becoming the 39th player to win 20 PGA Tour titles.
Image: REUTERS
After winning the CJ Cup, Rory McIlroy revealed he almost took the rest of 2021 off after the disappointment of Europe’s heavy Ryder Cup defeat.
The Northern Irishman was reflecting on lifting his 20th PGA Tour title with victory in Las Vegas on Sunday. He was playing for the first time since that 19-9 loss to the United States at Whistling Straits in September.
“On the Saturday night of the Ryder Cup, I was done with golf,” the 32-year-old said. “I didn’t want to see golf again until 2022.
“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.”
That breakthrough at Whistling Straits was McIlroy’s consolation singles win over Xander Schauffele, when the US had already all-but-secured victory.
It was the Northern Ireland golfer’s only point in four Ryder Cup matches that weekend and he was famously left in tears during his closing interview after an arduous three days.
However, McIlroy bounced back with a victory in Vegas that moved him up to eighth in the world rankings and issued a thrilling reminder of the immense talent that has helped lift him to four major titles.
“It was huge, it really was, I was really disappointed with how I played,” McIlroy told the Golf Channel when asked if his poor Ryder Cup performance fuelled his motivation to win again.
“There was a lot of reflection [in] the couple of weeks [since then]. This is what I need to do. I need to play golf, simplify it and just be me. “I think for the last few months I was trying to be someone else to try to get better but realised that being me is enough and being me, I can do things like this.”
McIlroy carded a final-round six-under-par 66 to finish 25 under, securing a one-shot victory in the CJ Cup and becoming the 39th player to win 20 PGA Tour titles.
He trailed by nine shots after 36 holes but hit a superb 62 on Saturday to storm into contention. The Northern Irishman began Sunday’s round two behind leader Rickie Fowler, but made five birdies and an eagle to claim his second win of 2021, with Open champion Collin Morikawa shooting a bogey-free 62 to finish second.
It was a second title of 2021 for McIlroy, who the Wells Fargo Championship in May in what has been an otherwise disappointing year for the former world number one.
“To get to 20 wins here is a big achievement,” he said in his greenside interview. “I didn’t know if it was going to be this week, but I knew if I just kept my head down and kept playing well and kept doing the right things that eventually I’d get there. To get a win, it’s great, it feels really good.
“I played really well this week, highlighted by the 10-under yesterday [on Saturday], but to follow that up with a really solid round today [on Sunday]... I just played really solid golf, just kept giving myself birdie looks and thankfully made enough of them to get the job done.”
Sunday’s finals round saw McIlroy shoot a three-under 33 on his front nine to stay in the hunt, but after a birdie at the par-four 12th, he sunk a 34-foot putt from off the front of the green to eagle the par-five 14th and move three clear.
Morikawa picked up birdies on eight of his first 11 holes and closed with an eagle to move to within one after his lowest-ever PGA Tour round. However, McIlroy parred his last four holes to secure a one-shot win at the Summit Club in Las Vegas.