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RORY MCILROY JOINED the short list of multiple winners of The Players Championship with a bloodless victory over JJ Spaun in Monday’s playoff at TPC Sawgrass.
Spaun, who started Sunday’s final round four shots ahead of McIlroy, saw his challenge crumble with a devastating triple bogey at the iconic 17th island hole.
McIlroy, Players champion in 2019, shot one-over par in the three-hole aggregate format to beat Spaun.
The world number two had the honour of the opening drive and used it to dial up the pressure on his opponent with a wind-assisted 336-yard drive that found the left fairway.
A solid approach left McIlroy with 33 feet on the par-five, which he two-putted for a birdie, while Spaun — whose second shot flirted dangerously with the water hazard before finding the greenside bunker — could only manage par.
McIlroy then turned the screw with his tee shot on the 17th, which found the heart of the green, before a chasing Spaun fired over the back and into the water before struggling to a triple-bogey six.
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Despite three-putting from 29 feet for bogey himself, McIlroy held a three-shot advantage on the 18th tee, and though both players’ drives found the right rough, McIlroy had more than enough of a cushion to close out his second PGA Tour win of the season, and his 28th overall.
“I feel bad for JJ,” McIlroy told NBC in the immediate aftermath. “He hit a really good shot on 17 and it just went straight through the wind.
“I was lucky to do enough to get it done, but unbelievably proud and happy to win my second Players Championship.
“I think this is the third time I’ve won on St Patrick’s Day so it’s been a good luck charm for me.”
He added: “I feel like I’m a way more complete player than I was a few years ago, even in conditions like this.
“The little nine iron into 17, the little eight iron into the last — I said to Harry [Diamond, his caddy], that little shot will take us a long way.
“I feel like I can play in all conditions and in anything that comes my way, and really happy that I was able to get it done today.”
Written by Niall Kelly and originally published on The 42 whose award-winning team produces original content that you won’t find anywhere else: on GAA, League of Ireland, women’s sport and boxing, as well as our game-changing rugby coverage, all with an Irish eye. Subscribe here.
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