Rory McIlroy says it will be hard to take if he shoots lowest score at Tour Championship and still doesn’t win due to five-shot deficit
RORY McILROY admits he will find it hard to take if he shoots the lowest score at the Tour Championship - and still misses out on a £12.3million jackpot.
The former world No1 said it would be hard to “wrap your head around it” if he proved the best player over 72 holes at East Lake, and still headed home a loser.
That could happen to McIlroy and everyone else teeing it up today - apart from Justin Thomas, the man currently leading the chase for the richest prize in golf.
The staggered scoring system being used for the first time means McIlroy has to start five shots behind Thomas, who will tee off already ten under par.
And he says it will be “bittersweet” if he outscores Thomas and everyone else, but fails to make up that five shot deficit.
He said: “We’re facing something totally different, and something very exciting.
"But we’re creatures of habit, and if you shoot the lowest 72 hole score and don’t win, it will be hard to wrap your head around it
“I get it that this system is a lot simpler than the old one, where guys at the back of the field had to win the tournament, AND have a lot of other things go their way to win the FedEx title as well.
It would feel bittersweet if you shoot the low score of the week, and still get edged out by a shot because someone started ahead of you.
McIlroy on staggered scoring
“At least this way the leaderboard tells you all you have to know. And I guess it will feel even sweeter if you come from a load of shots back and emerge as the winner.
“But equally, it would feel bittersweet if you shoot the low score of the week, and still get edged out by a shot because someone started the week ahead of you.”
McIlroy does not feel that victory is a foregone conclusion for Thomas, who starts two clear of nearest challenger Patrick Cantlay, and ten ahead of the five players who just scraped into the thirty man field.
He added: “There will be guys who feel they have nothing to lose who will play more aggressively – and while some of them could shoot themselves out of it, there could be others who go low and put themselves right in the mix.
It only takes a couple of bogeys from JT and one or two others, plus a few birdies from the guys further back, to make it a lot closer.
"I could even foresee a situation where as many as 15 guys could still have a shot at winning on Sunday.
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“In my position, I could do with a low score starting out. If I shoot a 65 – five under par – it could be enough to wipe out JT’s lead if he doesn’t get hot.
"There’s a lot that could happen over the next few days, which is what makes it so exciting.”
McIlroy has already proposed one tweak to the revised format, by increasing the number of FedEx Cup points for Major winners from 600 to 1,000.
If that had been the case this year, Tiger Woods and Shane Lowry would both have made it into the top 30.
Instead, Open champion Lowry could only manage 33rd place, while Masters winner Woods – who won at East Lake last year – was down in 42nd.
McIlroy added: “I’ve always felt Major winners should be better rewarded in terms of FedEx Cup points, and I think that not having Tiger and Shane here backs that up.
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“Someone pointd out that we’ve got 11 non-winners among the thirty players here this week.
“They have obviously played consistently well to get here, and OK, everyone knows what you have to do to qualify.
"But I think it still shows that awarding 1,000 points for the Majors instead of 600 is the way forward.”