Inside the Field: Wells Fargo Championship

ATLANTA – Rory McIlroy was safely on the 18th green Sunday afternoon before the galleries began to fill the fairway at East Lake. A year ago, in an unbridled and impromptu act of celebration, the crowds had swarmed Tiger Woods on his way to an emotional victory at the TOUR Championship. This time, it was more restrained. A bit more refined. A bit more orderly. This time, the crowds weren’t celebrating the comeback of a legend, but the continuing greatness of a superstar in his prime. This time, it was much more enjoyable for McIlroy, who may have been the only person to leave East Lake a year ago without wearing a smile. He played with Tiger that day but became an afterthought, shooting a 4-over 74 and failing to, in his words, “take the fight to Tiger.â€� This time, paired with the world’s top-ranked player in Brooks Koepka, McIlroy brought the fight. Starting the final round one stroke behind, McIlroy kept delivering one haymaker after haymaker, pounding drives in the fairway, making clutch putts, keeping the pressure on. Eventually, it was Koepka who flinched with three consecutive bogeys on the back nine. And this time, it was McIlroy and his caddie, Harry Diamond, who could enjoy the moment on 18 instead of desperately trying to avoid the Tiger frenzy. “It’s not quite as scary a walk as it was last year,â€� McIlroy told his good friend as they walked up the fairway. Related: Final leaderboard | What’s in Rory’s bag? McIlroy, ending his day with two birdies, posted a 2-under 68 to win by four shots over Xander Schauffele, and five over Koepka and Justin Thomas. As a result, McIlroy claimed the second FedExCup of his career, joining Tiger as the only two-time winners. Also as a result, McIlroy posted the lowest score of the week, regardless of the new Starting Strokes format. He started the week at 5 under, finished at 18 under, meaning he was 13 under without the advantage. That’s one stroke better than his winning total in 2016. See, it all worked out. Oh, and he won the $15 million bonus, which is $5 million more than he won three years ago when he bested Ryan Moore and Kevin Kisner in a playoff to win his first FedExCup title. McIlroy has said the money is secondary to him. “Didn’t think about it once,â€� he said of golf’s biggest prize. He just wanted the title, wanted to overtake Schauffele as Strokes Gained leader, and wanted to climb to second in the world behind Koepka. Done, done and done. “Really cool to put my name on this trophy for a second time,â€� McIlroy said. “Any time you can do something that only Tiger has done, you’re doing something right.â€� Last year’s final round at East Lake obviously stung. So did the final round of the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational a month ago. McIlroy led by one over Koepka entering Sunday, but shot a 71 to Koepka’s 65, fueling the opinion that Koepka had his number. Instead, it only fueled McIlroy. After finishing up their third rounds Sunday morning after play was suspended the day before due to a lightning strike that injured six fans, McIlroy found himself one shot behind Koepka and in the final twosome. “Once I saw I was in the final group with Brooks, it just took me back to Memphis a few weeks ago,â€� McIlroy said. “I felt like I learned a few lessons that day. … I wanted to right some of the wrongs that I made that Sunday in Memphis.â€� And what did McIlroy learn? “Sometimes I try to treat Sundays the same as a Thursday or Friday, and they’re not. I go into them maybe a little too relaxed. … Brooks went out there in Memphis and shot 65 and just basically dominated the tournament, dominated me. And I realized if I want to become the dominant player in the world again, I need to be more like that. “I guess that’s the ultimate compliment I can give Brooks is today I wanted to be a little bit more like him.â€� Sunday was the eighth round McIlroy and Koepka have been paired in the last five weeks on TOUR. McIlroy has shot the lower round four times and they’ve tied once. “His game is in great form right now,â€� Koepka said. “It’s really impressive to watch. Like I’ve said multiple times, he’s the most fun to watch when he’s playing well. He hits it so good, he putts it really well, and when he’s on, man, he’s tough to beat.â€� Koepka wasn’t at his best in the final round, missing fairways (5 of 14) and short putts (two inside 5 feet). Still … “I don’t think I was going to beat Rory today, even if I had it,â€� Koepka admitted. This week, voting among the PGA TOUR pros will begin for this year’s Player of the Year. The two candidates with arguably the best credentials are Koepka (last year’s winner) and McIlroy. Koepka has three wins, including a major and a World Golf Championships event, and has top-4 finishes in every major. McIlroy won THE PLAYERS Championship, the RBC Canadian Open, and the FedExCup. In his 19 starts, he has 14 top-10 finishes this season, most on TOUR, and he led the TOUR in Strokes Gained. Going into the TOUR Championship, McIlroy was asked what a win would mean for his Player of the Year chances. He reeled off his accomplishments while wondering if the award should honor a few great weeks or an entire year. “I feel like I’ve been very consistent,â€� he said. Then he caught himself. “It’s like I’m sitting up here trying to make an argument for myself to win. But if that were the case and I wasn’t to win, I would understand why Brooks would.â€� Said Justin Thomas, the 2017 Player of the Year winner: “I think it just depends on how everybody views the voting. Consistently, Rory has outplayed Brooks by a mile in how he’s done the entire year. It’s unbelievable how he’s played. “But the most important thing is wins and playing great in the big events, and nobody has done that better than Brooks.â€� Consider it another showdown between Koepka and McIlroy. We’ve seen it in Memphis, in the FedExCup Playoffs, and we saw it Sunday at East Lake. It’s a back-and-forth we’ll likely see for the next decade. “He most likely will win the Player of the Year, but he didn’t win the FedExCup,â€� McIlroy said. “I know it’s going to sting him for a bit … I definitely expect more Sundays like that between the both of us in the future.â€� On this Sunday at East Lake, it was McIlroy’s walk to enjoy. This time, the fans chanted his name. This time, he got to enjoy the moment. It’s a wonderful way to finish a season.

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The reigning PGA Tour Player of the Year might have backtracked a tad on his stand against hecklers, but he’s not making any apologies for the state of his game — which, on the heels of a dream season, looks most impressive.

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Cameron Tringale (+3000) ... You can't spell his surname without "angel," which is what receives its wings every time a golfer rings the bell for his first victory on the PGA TOUR. Tringale likely would say that he's had a wonderful life, but he's making his 297th career start as a professional without breaking through, as Joel Dahmen was the most recent to accomplish on Sunday in the Dominican Republic and as Valero Texas Open defending champion Corey Conners in 2019. Since Tringale's rookie season of 2010, there have been 135 first-time winners. If he ever were to join the club, it'd make just as much sense at TPC San Antonio as anywhere. He's cashed seven times in 10 trips, thrice for a top 20, including a T17 in the last edition. The 33-year-old also checks all of the boxes for precision and efficiency, and he's fresh off a T13 at The Honda Classic, his sixth top 20 of the season. Aaron Wise (+6600) ... Back in Texas where he broke through for his lone PGA TOUR title (2018 AT&T Byron Nelson). He's returned before, of course, but perhaps not as impressively until now. Currently 12th on TOUR in greens in regulation and 30th in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green. In his last start in the wind at PGA National just two weeks ago, he finished T13 for his fourth top 20 of the season. For the week, he slotted inside the top 20 in both SG: Tee-to-Green and SG: Putting. Denny McCarthy (+8000) ... Endured a rough four months since a T4 at the Bermuda Championship and at a time when he was in a groove. He got back on bermudagrass in earnest on the Florida Swing and went 3-for-3, punctuating the series with a T3 at PGA National. Now 72nd in the FedExCup and a virtual lock to secure his card, he carries that momentum into San Antonio where he finished T20 in his debut in 2018. His propensity to split fairways and continue to rank among the best putters on TOUR favor him if the course stands taller than it did two years ago. David Hearn (+30000) ... While there must be a sense of national pride to compete alongside defending champion and fellow Canadian Corey Conners, Hearn fits the bill across the board of the quantifiable. In three of his last five trips to TPC San Antonio (2012, 2016, 2018), he's finished inside the top 20. He's also traveling from Corales where he posted a T13 for his third top 15 of the season; his last was at similarly exposed Bermuda (T8). And his combination of accuracy of the tee (17th), precision on approach (T22 in proximity) and putting (12th in Stroke Gained) presents as a triple threat when the winds kick up. Austin Eckroat (+20000) ... The pandemic has yielded unexpected dividends. For example, if the Korn Ferry Tour Finals wasn't canceled and eligibility extended for all PGA TOUR members, Martin Laird, Robert Streb and Branden Grace would've been subject to losing their cards, but each is now fully exempt through 2022-23 as a result of their wins this season. Also, Will Zalatoris is accomplishing more than any other PGA TOUR non-member who hasn't won in memory, in the process proving that there always is opportunity for the strongest talent on this stage. So, it stands to reason that, at a time when the lives of the world's youth are put on hold for a year, a strong talent among the golfers of the generation could break into the winner's column as an amateur. That's heady stuff for Eckroat, the 22-year-old senior at Oklahoma State University. In the world previously known to all, he'd have turned professional by now and would have been plying his craft wherever the game took him. In a peek at his potential, he finished T12 with four sub-70s at Mayakoba in December. That matched the likes of Justin Thomas and Max Homa. Former college teammate and current roommate, Viktor Hovland, prevailed, so Eckroat was first-hand witness to the experience. He's No. 5 on the PGA TOUR University Ranking. NOTE: Sleeper is a relative term, so Rob uses unofficial criteria to determine who qualifies. Each of the following usually is determined to be ineligible for this weekly staple: Winners of the tournament on the current host course; winners in the same season; recent major champions; top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking; recent participants of team competitions. Odds were sourced on Tuesday, March 30 at 5 a.m. ET. For live odds visit betmgm. Visit BetMGM.com for Terms and Conditions. 21+ years of age or older to wager. CO, IA, IN,MI, NJ, NV,PA, TN, VA or WV only. Excludes Michigan Disassociated Persons. Please Gamble Responsibly. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-522-4700 (CO, NV, VA), 1-800-270-7117 for confidential help (MI), 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ, PA & WV), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), Call or Text the Tennessee REDLINE: 800-889-9789 (TN), or call 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN).

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