Rory McIlroy openly confessed that he remains dissatisfied with the state of his swing as he heads into the season‑ending Tour Championship, even though he came agonisingly close to winning at the BMW Championship. The Northern Irish star described his recent form as "far from where it needs to be," a sentiment that lingered after a disappointing showing at the FedEx St. Jude Championship where he finished 66th out of a 68‑player field. By contrast, his performance in St.
Louis was markedly better, and the improvement gave him a realistic shot at the title. At Bellerive Country Club, McIlroy surged back into contention during the third round, birdieing three of his last four holes to close the gap to just five strokes behind the tournament leader, Wyndham Clark. That strong finish set up a Sunday showdown with the US Open champion, and McIlroy managed to pull level with Clark on the final day, creating a tense head‑to‑head battle that captured the attention of golf fans worldwide.
Despite tying for the lead with three holes remaining, McIlroy ultimately slipped to third place, finishing four strokes behind Clark, who sealed a three‑shot victory with a flurry of birdies at the end of the round. It was Clark's third PGA Tour win of the season, and the win underscored his ability to perform under pressure.
"I'm closer [with my game] than I was at the start of the week," McIlroy said in the post‑round interview. "I'm still not in a spot where I'm super happy with where my game is or where my swing is, so I just have to keep working on it. It's nice to know, even when I'm not super happy with everything, I can still piece it together and get it around and still give myself a chance to win tournaments." McIlroy's round began positively with a two‑shot advantage on the first tee, and after recovering from bogeys on the fourth and seventh holes, he rattled off three birdies over a four‑hole stretch beginning at the eighth.
This surge allowed him to catch up to Clark, who had stumbled early, posting three over par through his first ten holes. Clark, however, regained momentum on the back‑nine.
He holed a 15‑foot birdie putt on the 16th and followed it with another birdie on the subsequent par‑five, while McIlroy dropped a shot on the same hole. Clark then added a final birdie on the 18th to widen his lead over runner‑up Patrick Cantlay and secure the win. Reflecting on his overall performance, McIlroy added, "I felt like most of my game held up today.
Obviously, going out in the final group and you're working on some stuff, you're just hoping that everything stays the way it is. I hit it well on the back nine. I gave myself plenty of chances.
I just couldn't get a putt to drop there in those final few holes. I always felt like I needed to just get my nose ahead to really try to put the pressure on Wyndham [Clark] and I couldn't. We were tied there for a few holes and then when he made that putt on 16 for a two and I couldn't answer – that was obviously a huge moment in the round and in the tournament. Overall, I'm encouraged with how I played this week and certainly something to build on going into East Lake." Both competitors found themselves in the rough off the tee on the par‑five 17th.
Clark elected to lay up, a conservative play that ultimately led to a birdie, while McIlroy attempted a more aggressive shot that landed him in a bunker and resulted in a tournament‑ending bogey. "I tried to get it up a bit too far," McIlroy admitted afterward.
"I should have been taking that left bunker out of play. If you're going to lay it up, lay it up, so just another stupid decision with a lay‑up on a par‑five that cost me." When asked whether he felt he deserved the win, McIlroy told CBS Sports, "I can't be too disappointed.
I'm probably not playing well enough to be disappointed that I didn't win. I had my chances on the back nine and hit a lot of good putts that didn't go in. Wyndham Clark stepped up when he needed to. His birdie on 16 was huge and the way he played the last three holes, he showed a lot of character." The PGA Tour season now builds toward its climax at the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club, where only the top 30 players in the FedExCup standings will compete for the coveted $10 million first prize and the overall FedExCup title.
As the field narrows, the pressure intensifies, and players like McIlroy will be looking to fine‑tune their swings and mental approach to seize any remaining opportunities. Fans can follow the final four rounds live on Sky Sports, with coverage beginning Thursday at 5 p.m., or stream the action without a contract via the NOW platform.