Rory McIlroy has slipped outside of the top 15 of the Official World Golf Rankings for the first time in nearly 12 years following his tied-43rd finish in the first of three FedEx Cup play-off events at the Northern Trust.
Despite a rallied back nine on the final day of the rain-affected event in New Jersey that saw him card four birdies, the damage had already been done earlier on as a bogey and double bogey on his front nine holes left him three-over as he entered the turn.
As a result, the four-time major winner’s four back nine birdies saw him card a one-under-par 70 on day four, leaving him in tied-43rd on seven-under for the tournament, a huge 13 shots off eventual winner Tony Finau.
Yet another frustrating week for the 32-year-old has therefore seen him create some unwanted history for himself, as it sees him slip out of the world’s top 15 for the first time since November 2009 – his second full season as a professional.
The two-time PGA Championship winner’s recent fall from grace has been a rapid one, having been ranked world number one as recently as last March, where he became only the third player ever to spend 100 weeks at the top of the world, behind Tiger Woods (683 weeks) and Greg Norman (331 weeks).
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