The nearly man beat the journeyman and with it Rory McIlroy claimed his biggest title in six years at the Players Championship on Monday.
Given the pseudo-psychology that would have been forthcoming had he lost his three-hole shootout to JJ Spaun, he drove away from Sawgrass with far more than the distinction of being the first European to win the self-styled ‘fifth major’ twice.
Relief would be one thing, given this was a tournament that commenced with heckles about his Augusta choke in 2011 and was prolonged by his inability to convert a three-stoke lead with six to play on Sunday.
Another would be momentum, because let’s not forget the Masters is only three weeks away. To that ongoing narrative about his missing major and failed attempts, it is worth stating he is coming in hot, with two wins in five starts this season and three in six if you factor the end of 2024.
But we can park bigger pictures for a moment. In the minutiae of Monday play-off, the door McIlroy had left open for Spaun the previous evening was slammed hard on the world No 57 the following morning.
By the time they had played two of the three extra holes, Spaun was a full three shots back, blown off the course by strong winds and an opponent who never looked like giving this one away.
Rory McIlroy claimed his second Players Championship title and his second PGA Tour win of the season on Monday morning
The Northern Irishman beat JJ Spaun (pictured) over a three-hole play-off, with the American finding the water on the par-three 17th
It is McIlroy’s 28th PGA Tour title and second this year, with the 35-year-old Northern Irishman coming into a brilliant vein of form three weeks out from this year’s Masters
‘It’s amazing,’ said McIlroy, who also won here in 2019. ‘I feel like I’m a better player now than I ever have been, and it’s nice to see the fruits of my labour paying off.’
To say he was nervous about sealing the deal would be something of an understatement. Having capitulated at both the US Open and Irish Open in the past nine months, and then his defeat in the play-off at the BMW PGA Championship, McIlroy admitted he was wrestling with himself coming into the showdown with Spaun.
He disclosed that he spent the evening watching the Devil Wears Prada and then failed to sleep beyond 3am, but evidently Spaun was the one who struggled most with the conditions and circumstances – with one PGA Tour win to show for his 12 years on the circuit, and a brush with losing his card altogether in 2023, he wilted.
McIlroy added: ‘I was as nervous as I can remember this morning. Because I didn’t get it done last night, and because I am expected to win as well, that brings its own pressure as well. I handled it today.
‘I have had my heart broken a lot in the past few years. We all have to go through it. Those are the days that make us better.’
Those who care for such details will make a point of flagging it was St Patrick’s Day and therefore an Irish win would be inevitable. Considering the inconsistencies in McIlroy’s driving this week, hitting only half his fairways, that would have been a bold wager.
But he nailed one 336 yards up the middle on the 16th to open the play-off and when Spaun found the right-hand rough, the initiative was in the hands of the world No 2. He took a birdie four and Spaun left with a par after his approach was deposited in the bunker.
That one-stroke lead became definitive at the iconic 17th hole.
It was a tough defeat for Spaun (left) who was compting in only his first-ever play-off and for his second PGA Tour title
With 20mph hours swirling above the 17th hole, Spaun clubbed up to an eight-iron and sent his ball long over the green into the water
McIlroy was composed, taking a one-shot lead on Spaun after the 16th hole before going on to play a brilliant tee-shot on the 17th and a stunning approach on the 18th to set himself up for the win
Coming into major season, the signs are looking good for McIlroy, who said he is feeling like a much more ‘complete player’
With the wind into McIlroy’s face, and water covering most of the 130 yards in front of him, he played a nine iron to 30 feet. Spaun took one club more and soared all the way through into the drink – he would go on to card a triple-bogey six, while McIlroy three-putted for bogey and a three-stroke lead.
Neither man found the fairway at the last and, really, only one of them needed to. A McIlroy bogey completed the win.
For Spaun, there is the consolation of a week no one saw coming, himself included. He will also enter the world’s top 25 and therefore qualifies for the Masters, where McIlroy will travel next month with greater expectations.
It is likely he will play one more tournament before he resumes his mission to complete the career grand slam.
Last summer he was emotional in describing himself as golf’s ‘nearly man’, and in the context of the past 11 years at the majors, it is a tag that remains. Victories like this one and so many others on the PGA Tour only deepen the mystery of why that is.
