The First Look: FedEx St. Jude Championship

Cutting through a crowded leaderboard, Rory McIlroy birdies five of his last six holes to post a final-round 64 and resume his winning ways after an 18-month dry spell. Welcome to the Monday Finish, where the 2016 FedExCup champion and former world No. 1 went 8 under for his last 13 holes at Bay Hill, picking up his 14th PGA TOUR victory. FIVE OBSERVATIONS 1. McIlroy bears watching now more than ever. The 28-year-old former world No. 1 has always been a streaky player who can reel off birdies and wins in bunches. He won The Open Championship, the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, and the PGA Championship in three consecutive starts in 2014. Now he’s got his sights set on this week’s WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, and will go for the career Grand Slam at the Masters next month after a much-need injection of confidence at Bay Hill. “It’s huge,â€� said McIlroy, whose victory moved him up to 24th in the FedExCup standings. “The shots that I was able to hit today under pressure, coming down the stretch, the two 5-irons into the par-3s on the back nine, the wedge shots, the putts, the drive on 16, the 3-wood on 18 after the last 3-wood I hit on that hole I hit it OB left on Thursday. “So just stuff that you, all these little barriers that you have to overcome,â€� he added, “whether it be physical or mental, yeah, it’s huge for my confidence going into the next few weeks, and I kept saying I didn’t need a win going into Augusta to feel like I had a chance, I just wanted to see signs of good golf, and thankfully I’ve been able to get both today.â€� 2. We should all get putting lessons from Brad Faxon, as McIlroy looked like he was putting to a pizza-sized hole at Bay Hill. His 100 putts for the week were the fewest of his career, and he led the field in strokes gained: putting, picking up an average of 2.507 strokes per round on the field. “When he is making putts,â€� said playing partner Justin Rose, “he’s incredibly hard to beat.â€� McIlroy’s most dramatic of his eight birdies was a toss-up. He didn’t even need his putter after his nearly 42-foot chip-in from just off the 15th green, and his curling, 25-foot birdie putt on 18 was reminiscent of eight-time API winner Tiger Woods. In fact, McIlroy said afterward, he dialed up his memories of Woods making the exact same putt in order to visualize the line. “Look, I would be lying if I said that I was trying to totally make it,â€� McIlroy said. As for those putting lessons from Faxon, McIlroy said they were more helpful to his psyche than his mechanics, freeing him up to just aim and shoot. Hey, whatever works. 3. Bryson DeChambeau may have the clutch gene. The par on 15? “Unbelievable out of the rough,â€� he said. “I couldn’t believe I got that up and down. That’s a one out of 20 to 30 chance right there.â€� As for the details of his eagle at the par-5 16th hole, DeChambeau was a little fuzzy. ShotLink tells us the drive traveled 331 yards and settled in the right rough. The second shot went 157 yards and cozied up to 15 feet, 8 inches from the pin. The putt snuck in the left edge. “I hit a perfect drive,â€� DeChambeau said. “Just needed to fly like three, four more yards, would have been all the way down in the fairway in the middle of the fairway and unfortunately got down on that down slope in the rough, but was able to somehow get it to 15 feet. I have no idea how it got to 15 feet. Then that putt was nice as well.â€� His birdie try at 17, from just inside 22 feet, veered left at the hole. “I thought it was going right,â€� DeChambeau said. “The book said it was going right, and I hit it and like halfway there I’m like, man, this is on track.â€� Alas, the ball missed and DeChambeau bent low, his hands on his knees. Needing to eagle the par-4 18th hole to tie, he bogeyed it instead, but that was inconsequential as DeChambeau remained in second place alone. “I definitely learned a lot today,â€� he said. “I know that I can play with the best in the world.â€� 4. Justin Rose, 37, is on a major roll. In fact, it’s getting hard to keep up with all of his top-10 finishes, what with his solo third at Bay Hill part of an epic run since last fall. Rose racked up top-10s in all four FedExCup Playoffs events last year; won the WGC-HSBC Champions on Oct. 29; won the European Tour’s Turkish Airlines Open; and already had top-10s at the TOUR’s Farmers Insurance Open (T8) and Valspar Championship (T5) when he got to Orlando. “Obviously a very good week,â€� Rose said. “Fourteen under par on this golf course is never to be sniffed at, I suppose. I got off to a really poor start on Thursday, getting 4 over [through six holes]. I thought it was a good omen for me. I won the U.S. Open from 4 over, I won at Congressional from 4 over, this week I was 4 over early, I was hoping that was a good sign.â€� Rose’s only ho-hum result of late, a T37 at the WGC-Mexico Championship, came in his return to competition after a four-week break. 5. The potential for a Tiger Woods win mesmerized everyone. “It was amazing,â€� said runner-up DeChambeau. “I told my caddie, Tim, on the 11th fairway, I’m like, ‘Man, Tiger’s doing it.’ I mean, I was incredibly happy for him. At the same point in time I’m still trying to win a golf tournament, right?â€� Woods, 42, closed to within a shot of the lead before hooking his tee shot out of bounds left of the 16th fairway. As it turned out, his bogey at the par-5 hole hardly mattered in light of McIlroy’s closing burst of five birdies in his last six holes. Woods (T5) finished 10-under, eight shots back, and moved up eight spots to 35th in the FedExCup standings. “It was a great two weeks of being in contention again,â€� Woods tweeted. “I feel like I’m getting a little better. Great playing by Rory today to win at the King’s place. Arnie would have been proud of golf today and the charges!!!â€� FIVE INSIGHTS 1. McIlroy’s deadeye putting gained 10.027 strokes on the field for the week, which made him No. 1 in strokes gained: putting (not surprising) and was his best-ever performance on the greens. He also was second in the field in putting from outside 10 feet, holing 11 in 39 attempts (28.21 percent). 2. Bay Hill had undergone some changes since Woods won his eighth API in 2013, but length is still hugely important. McIlroy topped the field at 316.5 yards per drive, with DeChambeau second at 309.4, and Woods sixth at 306.8. Ryan Moore (287.1, 65th in the field) was the outlier here as he finished T5. 3. DeChambeau was solid from tee-to-green, ranking in the top 10 in all ball-striking stats, but his short game was merely average with bursts of brilliance. Even with his remarkable up-and-down par at the 15th hole on Sunday, he was 57th in scrambling (55 percent) for the week. 4. Rose triple-bogeyed his second hole of the tournament, but led the field with 24 birdies, two more than McIlroy and Patrick Reed, and finished solo third. Rose was also the only player to beat Woods when paired with him at Bay Hill, edging the 14-time major winner 67 to 69 in the third round. 5. Woods racked up 12 birdies on the par-5s, tied for first in the field. He also was second in strokes gained: around-the-green (+4.356), and eighth in strokes gained: putting (+1.381). Less impressive: He hit eight fairways in each of the first two rounds, and nine in each of the weekend rounds, for a driving accuracy percentage of 60.71, tied for 66th best. He also was behind the curve in greens in regulation; at 62.5 percent, Woods ranked T53 in that stat. TOP THREE VIDEOS

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• COURSE: Glen Oaks Club (Composite), 7,350 yards, par 70. Founded in 1924, Glen Oaks Club began on land carved out of the William K. Vanderbilt estate south of Long Island’s Lake Success. A need to expand in the late 1960s sent the club to a 250-acre site in Old Westbury, where Joe Finger was brought in to design three nine-hole loops. The layout remained largely unchanged until 2011, when members approved a major renovation and hired Craig Currier away from Bethpage State Park to oversee the project. The PGA TOUR came calling two years ago when seeking a site to step in for Liberty National, which was set as host until being awarded the Presidents Cup. The tournament course will draw from all three nines – Nos. 1-3 and 6-9 of the White course, Nos. 4 and 5 from the Red and the entire Blue layout. • FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 2,000 points. • CHARITY: The Tackle Kids Cancer program is the official charity of The Northern Trust, helping provide care for young patients and fund pediatric cancer research. Other donations are made to the American Red Cross, the YMCA of Long Island, The First Tee of Metropolitan New York and Birdies for the Brave. • FIELD WATCH: FedExCup points leader Hideki Matsuyama and new PGA Championship king Justin Thomas head a lineup currently set for 120 at the opening playoff stop. … Defending FedExCup champion Rory McIlroy is entered, after hinting of taking a long break after the PGA Championship to rest a rib flareup. … Masters champ Sergio Garcia will sit out the playoff opener for the third consecutive year, while Adam Scott is awaiting the birth of his second child. Brandt Snedeker (ribs), Scott Piercy and Dominic Bozzelli (both undisclosed) are the other absentees. … Summer winners Xander Schauffele (Greenbrier Classic) and Grayson Murray (Barbasol Championship) head up the list of dozen rookies expected to crack the 2017 playoff lineup. • 72-HOLE RECORD: 261, Bob Gilder (1982 at Westchester CC), Jason Day (2015 at Plainfield CC). • 18-HOLE RECORD: 61, Brandt Snedeker (3rd round, 2011 at Plainfield CC). • LAST YEAR: Patrick Reed picked up a playoffs victory and a Ryder Cup berth in one fell swoop, overcoming an early two-shot deficit to take control on the back nine and end a 55-start winless drought. An early bogey left Reed two shots behind Rickie Fowler at Bethpage Black, but he birdied three of his next four holes to pull even. He pushed in front with Fowler’s bogey at No.11 and never looked back, able to absorb a closing bogey for a one-stroke win over Sean O’Hair and Emiliano Grillo. The victory locked up a Ryder Cup return for Reed, who delivered a rousing performance in the U.S. win at Hazeltine. Fowler’s closing 74 dropped him to seventh and out of an automatic Ryder Cup spot, though Davis Love III later made him a captain’s pick. • STORYLINES: Matsuyama, Thomas and No.3 Jordan Spieth are separated by just 198 points atop the FedExCup points race, with a gap of 205 points down to Dustin Johnson in fourth. That quartet also stands as the only men to claim multiple victories during the regular season. … Thomas tees it up for the first time since becoming a major champion, which also happened to be his first top-25 finish since June. His first three wins of 2016-17 came in a 12-week span that bookended the Christmas break. … Though Johnson has cooled off since back-to-back-to-back wins just before the Masters, he’s been no worse than 17th since returning from the Open Championship. … At the back of the points list, entrants endeavor to crack the top 100 for a berth in the Dell Technologies Championship outside Boston. Typically, a half-dozen play their way into the second playoff stop from outside the top 100. • SHORT CHIPS: Jim Furyk, whose 34 FedExCup playoff starts are tied for No.7 all-time, won’t be around at all this year after failing to qualify for the postseason. He had just one top-10 finish in 18 starts. … Spieth last year became just the second defending FedExCup champion to make it all the way back to East Lake 12 months later, placing ninth in the final standings. Snedeker was the other, returning in 2013. • TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 2-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 1-2:30 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS). Sunday, noon-1:30 p.m. (GC), 2-6 p.m. (CBS). • PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 7:30 a.m.-3 p.m. (featured groups), 3-6 p.m. (featured holes). Saturday, 8:10 a.m.-6 p.m. (featured groups). Sunday, 8:20 a.m.-6 p.m. (featured groups). • RADIO: Thursday-Friday, noon-6 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 1-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com).

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