Rory McIlroy’s bid for a second Players Championship will rumble into a fifth day. He may well be grateful for that; in the final meaningful act of day four, the little-known JJ Spaun came within a couple of ball rotations of snatching the PGA Tour’s marquee event from McIlroy’s grasp. How that would have stung the Northern Irishman. The pair will instead return on Monday morning for a three hole playoff. McIlroy is the clear favourite but Spaun, with nothing to lose, carries menace.
As with so much involving McIlroy, this proved dramatic stuff. He was four shots adrift of the lead before a shot was struck on Sunday. Inside five holes, he was tied at the top. A four-hour weather delay ensued; when McIlroy birdied the 12th upon return, he led by three. McIlroy played the closing six in one over as Spaun birdied the 14th and 16th to force extra time.
“It was a battle all day,” McIlroy said. “I feel like I should be going home with the trophy tonight but that is fine, I will reset and hopefully go home with the trophy tomorrow.”
So much always depends on the closing two holes at the Stadium Course. McIlroy was irritated by a par on the 17th after his tee shot found an awkward lie but responded by hitting a magnificent iron into the heart of the 18th fairway. From there, he came up 73ft short; McIlroy’s two-putt was a good one. Spaun also made a three at the 17th but his tee shot at the last finished in pine straw. The underdog’s nerveless approach left him 30ft for glory. The putt finished so agonisingly short for Spaun. His 72 and McIlroy’s 68 left the duo at 12 under par. Tom Hoge, Lucas Glover and Akshay Bhatia were next in line at minus 10.
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Robert MacIntyre’s 69 delivered the Scot’s latest highly impressive, top-10 finish. MacIntyre’s standards now are such that he was disappointed with that, having dropped shots at the 15th and 18th.
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Scottie Scheffler’s cloak of invincibility has, for now at least, been tossed in the bin. His attempt to win three Players in a row ended with a whimper and a 73. “I walk away from this week feeling close,” Scheffler said. “I feel like there’s some stuff that I need to work on at home but I feel very close.”