McIlroy finished 16 under par after rounds of 67, 65, 70, and 70 kind on the dreaded path to the TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
The 29-year-old nordirländaren, ranked sixth in the world, needed tvåputta for par from four feet on the last hole to take home the title – and did not.
was enough for McIlroy, who after a sluggish start on Sunday, ruled with birdies on four of the last eight holes (11, 12, 15 and 16).
Several players had segerchans with a few holes left in the prestigious championship, which is usually referred to as ”the fifth majorn”.
McIlroy was to finish one stroke better than runner-up Jim Furyk, united states, which in turn had a shot to spare on the englishman Eddie Pepperell and Jhonattan Vegas, the Venezuela, on the shared third place.
the Spaniard Jon Rahm, who led with a punch in the face on Sunday, fell back to the shared fourth place after a 76.
, the eagerly-awaited victory in the competition. It was worth 2.25 million dollars, equivalent to sek 21 million, the PGA tour’s biggest pr so far.
the Swedes Henrik Stenson (+1) and Alex Norén (+2) was left behind in the 141-mannafältet and missed kvalgränsen after two days of play.
Soon waiting for the year’s first major, the US Masters at Augusta National on april 11 to 14. It is the only one of the four majors take that Rory McIlroy has not won – but perhaps it is possible the way this year?