McIlroy wins at East Lake, crowned FedEx Cup champion

Rory McIlroy shot a final-round 66 Sunday at East Lake Golf Club to win the TOUR Championship by one stroke over Sungjae Im and Scottie Scheffler.

With the win at 21-under, McIlroy earns $18 million and is crowned the FedEx Cup champion. The 33-year-old becomes the first player to win the FedEx Cup three times since the trophy's introduction in 2007. He also won it in 2016 and 2019.

Xander Schauffele finished fourth at 18-under, while Max Homa and Justin Thomas tied for fifth at 17-under.

McIlroy entered the round at 17-under, six strokes back of Scheffler at 23-under. The Northern Irishman opened the tournament at 4-under as the No. 7 seed on the FedEx Cup standings, starting six shots back of Scheffler, the No. 1 seed.

"It means an awful lot," McIlroy said, per the PGA TOUR, when asked about the significance of this win given the current golf landscape. "I believe in the game of golf. I believe in this tour in particular. I believe in the players on this tour. It's the greatest place in the world to play golf, bar none, and I've played all over the world."

The victory at East Lake marks McIlroy's third win of the season and 22nd of his TOUR career. The six-stroke deficit he overcame to win the tournament is the largest final-round comeback in TOUR Championship history. Sunday's triumph also moved McIlroy into a tie for 28th on the all-time TOUR wins list.

McIlroy's 66 was one of the lower scores Sunday - also shot by Homa and Im. Tony Finau produced the lowest final 18 holes with a 64, moving him into the top 10. Jordan Spieth and Viktor Hovland shot 65 and finished tied for 13th and 15th, respectively.

Scheffler's 73 matched the worst round Sunday and was also shot by Scott Stallings and Collin Morikawa. While $18 million was up for grabs for whoever won the event, Scheffler said he wasn't focused on the money.

"I've had a really great year, and I wanted to finish it off with a win here," Scheffler said. "Unfortunately, I wasn't able to do that, but at the end of the day, it's such a gift to be out here playing golf for money, and I'm just so thankful to be out here."

Scheffler had one of the most dominant seasons on TOUR in recent years. The world No. 1 won four events, including the Masters, World Golf Championships-Match Play, and the Arnold Palmer Invitational. All three tournaments featured more competitive fields than regular TOUR events.

While the 2021-22 PGA TOUR season wrapped up Sunday, the 2022-23 campaign is right around the corner. The first event is the Fortinet Championship set for Sept. 15-18. The following week will be the Presidents Cup, hosted at Quail Hollow Club in North Carolina.