Manic Monday

FedEx Cup, Tour Championship, East Lake Golf Club, Atlanta

Rory McIlroy has taken his second Tour Championship after an eventful two days at East Lake and has also pocketed a cool $15 million (£12.2 million at time of writing) to finish a topsy-turvey season on a high note which should ease the pain of missing the cut at The Open and erasing the memory of last year when as in his own words failed to “take the fight to Tiger”.

I wonder how much champers I can get in this bad boy?

The win is made even more impressive in the way in which McIlroy recovered from the new end of season format that saw him five shots behind the leader at five under par before a shot was even struck.

McIlroy, the world number two has been partnered with world number one Koepke eight times in the past few weeks, has scored better four times, with one tie and as Koepke said “His game is in great form right now, it’s really impressive to watch.”

Rory’s final round, a four under par 66, stood out not only for the score but also the manner in which he played.  Starting the day one shot behind Brooks, he applied pressure from the start resulting in Koepke eventually carding a two over par 72, his worst round by a considerable margin, dropping him to tied third overall.

The seventh hole saw a three-shot swing that arguably changed the whole dynamic of the game.  Koepke double bogeyed whereas Rory stuck his birdie putt from 20 feet and never looked back.  He continued to apply the pressure and birdied the 12th and 13th for a four shot lead that he never relinquished, by contrast Koepke bogeyed three consecutive holes in the back nine as he strived to keep pace.

Xander Schauffele, who began the final round level with McIlroy, had a hole-in-one on Sunday as he completed his third round.  However, aside from that he never really got going and admitted "I hit it horrible… It's one of those things, my game just wasn't sharp enough at the right time, and I don't really have too many complaints.”  Our guess is he won’t be too upset as he ended the day in second position after an even par 72, ending 14 under overall and with $5 million in his pocket.

Justin Thomas, the pre-tournament leader, carded a two under 68, his equal best score of the four rounds but he never really competed throughout.  Starting at 10 under as a result of the new Starting Strokes format Thomas struggled at East Lake and had it not been for his victory at Medinah he wouldn’t have threatened the leaderboard.

Our home contingent had a bit of a mixed bag.  England’s Paul Casey ended his challenge with a two over par 72 but must be satisfied with fifth position overall after starting in tied 16th place. Tommy Fleetwood ended his week as it began, one under par but was tied 16th so should be reasonably happy.  Justin Rose, however, must be very keen to see the back of Atlanta after ending the tournament three over par in tied 26th position.

For the final leaderboard click HERE.

Tipsport Czech Ladies Open, Golf Resort Karlštejn, Czech Republic

GolfPunk friend, Scotland’s Carly Booth, has ended her seven year wait for her third Ladies European Tour Title and after making par on the 18th didn’t even know she’d won! After completing her final round, she asked the tour photographer what the leading score was and then how many people were on it, he said, “Just you, you’ve won,” and she then burst into tears.

Rory, yours is bigger, but mine looks like the castle in the distance!

Booth’s final round was not exactly plane sailing.  Starting joint leader overnight on seven under Carly promptly hit her first drive out of bounds and dropped three shots on her first five holes.  However, after fighting back to level par at the turn there were birdies at 11 and 13, offset by bogeys on 14 and 15, before putting it back together to finish birdie-birdie-par to deliver a two under par 70 round and another title to add to her 2012 Scottish and Swiss Open victories.

“I’m a little bit flabbergasted by the whole day. I played good golf and I really had to dig deep in the final round. I’m overwhelmed with happiness,” said Booth.

English pair Charlotte Thompson and Hayley Davis tied for second with Finland's Sanna Nuutinen and France's Anais Meysonnier all one shot behind in a tightly packed leaderboard.

Now we know we’re kind of biased, and the selection for the Solheim Cup is set but it’s this kind of form and fight which makes us believe Carly should be at Gleneagles, just saying!

For the final leaderboard click HERE.

Scandinavian Invitation, Hills Golf and Sports Club, Gothenburg, Sweden

Erik van Rooyen birdied the last to overcome Matthew Fitzpatrick in a thrilling final day battle and win his first European Tour title at the Scandinavian Invitation.  Both men shot six-under 64’s on the final afternoon but Van Rooyen hung on to secure his maiden European Tour win.

Erm, ok Carly, you win....don't even want to go there!

The South African entered the final day in Gothenburg with a one shot lead and was caught by both Fitzpatrick and local legend Henrik Stenson but led by two at the turn and stretched that lead to three on the back nine.

Fitzpatrick, the 2016 champion, was tenacious in producing a birdie-birdie finish and when van Rooyen bogeyed the 17th, the players were tied at 18 under.  But a gutsy birdie from 15 feet on the last restored van Rooyen’s overnight lead and gave him the victory.

Former Open Champion Henrik Stenson delighted his home galleries to shoot a 66 and finish in a tie for third which included a one bounce hole in one at the sixth which sent the local crowd wild!

For the final leaderboard click HERE.