No Charles Barkley endorsement, no problem for Rory McIlroy. The Northern Irish golfer came up as the eventual winner of Capital One’s ‘The Match.’ McIlroy bested fellow PGA Tour Pro, Max Homa, on whom the NBA icon hedged his bet, and LPGA stars Lexi Thompson and Rose Zhang to win the ninth edition of ‘The Match’.

It was supposed to be a 12-hole tourney under the floodlight. But that wasn’t enough to decide the eventual winner. McIlroy, who won three of the twelve holes, maintained his dominance in the sudden-death playoff as well. The Playoff, keeping in line with the game’s innovative skins format, was a closest-to-the-pin challenge from 100 yards. McIlroy, using his trusted wedge, rammed the ball to 4 feet, 2 inches to the cup. 

The Northern Irishman’s effort throughout the match was worth $1.9 million as per the PGA Tour, with his last shot alone raking in $1.6 million. The Ulsterman himself pocketed $2.4 million in addition to the Tiffany bracelet. This year, the format moved away from the scramble, crowning the player who raises the highest amount of money as the eventual champion. 

McIlroy also won three holes–4th (worth $100,000), 6th and 8th (worth $150,000 each). The most significant was the triumph at the par-4 fourth hole, as it featured a one-club challenge. Rory McIlroy, who has advocated the Golf ball rollback policy claiming it’d encourage professionals to use diverse clubs, embraced the challenge. Using a 5-wood, the Ulsterman reached the greenside. Rolling the ball from there, McIlroy reached near the cup swiftly before nailing his birdie putt, one of the six he made Monday night. 

This was his second time at The Match. In his last outing, McIlroy paired up with Tiger Woods but couldn’t surpass the fiery duo of Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth. McIlroy, notably, has struggled on the Stateside this year. Will this victory be a shot in the arm for the Northern Irish Golfer? What does he think?

Rory McIlroy weighs in on his victory

Speaking after his victory at the Palm Beach Gardens, Rory McIlroy said, “I’ve played pretty well tonight and hit some pretty good shots. Hopefully, that carries over into the next few days as well.” McIlroy is set to tee up at the Cognizant Classic at the PGA National, less than 20 miles from where he teed up on Monday. 

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