PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Rory McIlroy made two late birdies amid the wild theatrics of Sunday at The Players Championship and closed with a 2-under 70 to win the next-best thing to a major.
It required a major performance down the scary stretch at the TPC Sawgrass.
McIlroy couldn’t afford to make a mistake over the final hour because of Jim Furyk, the 48-year-old former Ryder Cup captain who nearly pulled off a stunner. Furyk, one of the last players to get into the strongest field in golf, capped off a 67 with a shot so good into the 18th that he started walking when he hit it. It plopped down 3 feet from the hole for a birdie to take the lead.
But not for long.
McIlroy, one of eight players with at least a share of the lead in the last round, was coming off a bogey on the 14th to fall behind and was in trouble with a tee shot that found a bunker. He responded with his best shot of the day to 15 feet for birdie.
Then, McIlroy hit the longest drive of the round on the par-5 16th, leaving him a 9-iron from a good lie in the rough to set up a birdie and the lead.
Most important, he found dry land on the par-3 17th, the island green that never looks smaller than on Sunday at The Players.
He was solid to the end on a chilly, cloudy day and finished at 16-under 272 to win The Players on his 10th try.
It might even set him up for the Masters next month, the major he lacks for the career Grand Slam.
“This is probably the deepest field of the year, with so much on the line,” McIlroy said. “I’m thankful it was my turn this week.”
Furyk didn’t know he was in The Players until one week ago, but was on the verge of winning until McIlroy came through. Furyk started the back nine with two birdies to get into the mix and finished strong. His only regret was a 3-foot par putt on the 15th.
“A shot here, a shot there, maybe could have been a little different,” Furyk said. “But ultimately, left it all out there. It was also nice to get in contention, to get under the heat, to have to hit shots under a lot of pressure, and then to respond well to that and hit some good golf shots. It will be a confidence boost going forward.
Eddie Pepperell of England ran off four birdies in a five-hole stretch to briefly share the lead, none bigger than a putt from just inside 50 feet on the 17th.
But it wasn’t the best. One group later, Jhonattan Vegas holed a putt from just under 70 feet. That also gave him a share of the lead.
“Magic,” Vegas said. “If I tried it a thousand times, I wouldn’t even come close to making it, but I’m pretty happy it happened today.”
Both shot 66 and tied for third.
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