Money isn’t everything, not even when you’ve pocketed $15 million as the financial reward for doubling up winning the Tour Championship with the FedEx Cup title. One of the other perks of success for Rory McIlroy was receiving a vintage Coca Cola dispensing machine (which works!) , something he’ll have to figure out where to put in his new Floridian house on his return back across the Atlantic.
And whilst the vast majority of those who played in the Tour Championship at East Lake will put away their clubs for a break after a hectic, condensed summer of golf, McIlroy – who belatedly took up his PGA European Tour membership this season – will provide the headline act at the Omega European Masters in the Swiss Alps, his transatlantic flight presumably spent to the clinking of glasses with something sparkling rather than fizzy.
The Northern Irishman moved up to number two in the latest official world rankings on the back of his third win of the season, but while world number one Brooks Koepka is one of those putting his clubs away for a time, McIlroy – even with a win in Switzerland this week – can’t return back to the top of the world rankings just yet.
That numero uno position is one McIlroy last held back in September 2015, yet his consistency this season would indicate it is only a matter of time before he once again resumes the top spot.
McIlroy – one of four Irish players in the field in Crans, where he is joined by Pádraig Harrington, Paul Dunne and Gavin Moynihan – didn’t only win the FedEx Cup title with a season-ending Tour Championship success stateside, he also compiled a list of statistical accomplishments that backed up the strength of his game: lowest stroke average (69.05), first in strokes gained off the tee, first in strokes gained tee-to-green.
With a 2.55 stroke gained stat for the season, McIlroy observed: “The Holy Grail is three. I’m not going to stop until I get to three because Tiger has done that multiple seasons, and when you get to three strokes gained, you’re just in another league. I mean, that’s what I strive towards. (It’s) one of my goals every year, plus three. I’m getting closer. It’s been my best season to date. But all these little goals (matter).
“I think some of the work that I’ve put in on the mental side of the game and some of the things I’ve been doing, I definitely think you’re starting to see the fruition of that stuff . . . . so, just that attitude and that consistency day-in, day-out, I think that’s what you’ve see over the course of this year, and hopefully will continue to see going forward,” said McIlroy, who will switch his emphasis from the PGA Tour to the European Tour for the rest of the season.
McIlroy is currently a distant 46th in the Race to Dubai rankings (led by Shane Lowry) and, apart from playing in the Omega Masters this week, will also include the BMW PGA at Wentworth, the Alfred Dunhill Links and the HSBC Champions in his itinerary ahead of the Tour finale in Dubai. He is also committed to playing in the Zozo Championship in Japan (a new tournament on the PGA Tour schedule), which takes place in October ahead of the HSBC in China.
