Marc Leishman cruised to a five-shot victory over American Rickie Fowler and Justin Rose at Conway Farms Golf Club in Illinois. Leishman finished at 23-under-par with a final round 67 to wrap up his third PGA Tour victory at the penultimate event of the 2016/2017 season. Leishman beat a strong field that included Masters Champion Sergio Garcia and the FedEx Cup leader Jordan Spieth, one of the hottest players in the world right now.
Record breaking victory for Marc Leishman
Marc Leishman’s victory at the BMW Championship was sensationally composed and calm. He closed with a routine four-under 67 to close out a wire-to-wire victory. Leishman never looked like relinquishing the lead he had taken on the first day with an incredible nine-under 62. Despite pressure from Jason Day and Rickie Fowler, who did not allow him to completely run away with the victory, Leishman closed out the victory for a two win season. Leishman also broke the tournament record in the process. He adds the BMW Trophy to the Arnold Palmer invitational trophy that Leishman won earlier this season. At Bay Hill Leishman played some incredible golf as well, eagling the 16th hole of the final round to clinch a one shot victory.
Leishman’s Stellar Season:
This has topped off a great season for Leishman, as he has racked up seven top 10s along with his two victories, only missing three cuts the whole season from 24 tournaments. This victory moves him up to fourth in the FedEx Cup rankings, in the revered top five where he is able to control his own destiny at Eastlake. This gives Leishman a real chance at winning the $10 million bonus before he plays on the International team in the President’s Cup in New Jersey beginning September 28th.
McIlroy Continues to Struggle:
Rory McIlroy endured another tough tournament on Tour as his horrid season continues. Needing a top four finish to make it to Eastlake. McIlroy was only able to muster T-58 finish with a two-under par total, nowhere near enough to get him into the Tour Championship this week. Although his form has slipped considerably, McIlroy still remained optimistic about his game. McIlroy will play in the British Masters this week to give himself one more chance at kick-starting his game. He will then take an extended break to heal the rib injury he has been dealing with all season. It looks like the caddie change has not helped McIlroy, so maybe he needs to turn to parts of his game to discover where the faults lie, although his injury must absolve his game of some blame this season.
This week on Tour:
The PGA Tour heads towards its conclusion with its final tournament of the year, the Tour Championship at Eastlake in Atlanta, Georgia. Only the top 30 on Tour have made it to the Tour Championship and it promises to be a hotly contested finale, with any of these players in with a chance to take home the $10 million bonus. Jordan Spieth, the FedEx Cup leader, has remained in fine form throughout the playoffs, but he faces considerable challenges from the other top five, including heavyweights Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas.
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