McIlroy Achieves 'First 2 Consecutive Wins at The CJ Cup'... "Now I'm Number 1~" (Comprehensive)

McIlroy Fires 4-Under on Final Day of The CJ Cup for 1-Stroke Victory
23rd Career Win with 2.7 Billion Won Jackpot... Overtakes Scheffler to Claim World No.1
Kitayama 2nd, Lee Kyeonghun 3rd, Rah Tied 4th, Kim Juhyung Tied 11th

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] Defending champion Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) achieved his first consecutive two-time victory at the tournament.

Rory McIlroy raises his ball in greeting to the gallery's cheers after securing victory on the 18th hole of the final day at the CJ Cup. Ridge Land, USA = Photo by AFP Yonhap News

On the 23rd (local time), McIlroy surged with a 4-under-par on the final day at the CJ Cup, a PGA Tour event held at Congaree Golf Club (par 71, 7,655 yards) in Ridgeland, South Carolina, USA, finishing with a 1-stroke victory (17-under-par 267). This marked his 23rd career win, two months after winning the Tour Championship, the final event of last season's FedEx Cup Playoffs in August. The winner's prize money was $1.89 million (2.7 billion KRW).

Starting with a 1-stroke lead, McIlroy recorded seven birdies and three bogeys. He gained momentum with 'stepping stone birdies' on holes 2, 4, and 6, but was halted by a '3-putt bogey' on the 8th hole (par 4). However, he changed the atmosphere with a birdie on the 12th hole (par 5), and extended his lead with three consecutive birdies from holes 14 to 16. Consecutive bogeys on holes 17 and 18 did not affect his victory. Utilizing powerful drives up to 385 yards, he secured birdies on all three par-5 holes.

McIlroy will be announced as the new world No. 1 in the rankings released later that afternoon, pushing Scottie Scheffler (USA) to second place. This is McIlroy's return to the top spot after 2 years and 3 months since July 2020. McIlroy, who said the birdie on the 14th hole (par 3) was the turning point, expressed, "Returning to No. 1 in the world rankings means a lot. I have trained hard over the past year, and now I can enjoy playing."

Kurt Kitayama (USA) shot 4-under to finish second (16-under-par 268). Lee Kyoung-hoon (31) performed well with a 3-under-par but settled for third place (15-under-par 269). He failed to secure his third career win five months after his consecutive victories at the AT&T Byron Nelson in May. Jon Rahm (Spain), ranked fifth in the world, tied for fourth place (14-under-par 270). Past champions of this tournament, Justin Thomas (USA), who won in 2017 and 2019, tied for 40th place (2-under-par 282), and Scheffler finished tied for 45th (1-under-par 283).

From Korea, Kim Joo-hyung (20), the youngest two-time PGA winner, shot 1-under to finish tied for 11th (10-under-par 274). Im Sung-jae (24) added 2-under-par to climb to a tie for 34th place (4-under-par 280). Kim Si-woo (27) tied for 52nd (1-over-par 285), An Byeong-hun (31) tied for 62nd (3-over-par 287), and Kim Sung-hyun (24) finished 64th (4-over-par 288).

Among the domestic players who participated as invitees, Kim Bi-o (32) posted the best result, tied for 37th (3-under-par 281). Park Sang-hyun (39) tied for 49th (even par 284), Jung Chan-min (23) tied for 72nd (9-over-par 293), Bae Yong-jun (22) 75th (10-over-par 294), Shin Sang-hoon (24) 76th (17-over-par 301), and Seo Yo-seop (26) and Kim Young-soo (33) tied for 77th (19-over-par 303). The tournament featured 78 players and was played over four days without a cut-off.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.