Given all of the turmoil professional golf has faced over the last year, there was no one more fitting to take home the 2021-22 FedEx Cup — and its record cash prize — than Rory McIlroy.
On Sunday, McIlroy overcame a six-stroke deficit to edge out Scottie Scheffler for the 2022 Tour Championship and claim the $18 million bonus for finishing atop the FedEx Cup standings.
The victory pushed McIlroy to $26.8 million in earnings this season and $106.1 million for his career.
The 33-year-old claims the FedEx Cup for a third time (2016, 2019), the most in the competition’s history. He entered the season’s final tournament in Atlanta with a starting score of four-under due to his position in the standings.
As the FedEx Cup standings leader, Scheffler entered the event at 10-under, but could not hold off the competition. However, it was still a banner year for the 26-year-old, as he earned a career-high $13.2 million in the PGA Tour regular season.
That McIlroy was the one to take home the Tour’s crowning achievement and its record monetary prize is very appropriate.
He has served as the de facto face of the Tour amid stiffening competition from LIV Golf, which has poached several of golf’s key stars — including reportedly Cameron Smith, who finished 20th ($640,000) in the season-ending competition.
McIlroy has put his full support towards initiatives aimed at competing with LIV, such as increased purses and virtual golf league TGL, which was announced last week.
All the same, with the PGA Tour season over, LIV Golf will have the rest of 2022 to show off its product relatively unchallenged — starting in Boston this upcoming weekend.
