Rory McIlroy takes drama out of playoff to win The Players and build momentum to the Masters

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (news agencies) — The playoff was only three holes. Rory McIlroy needed only three swings. And yet his victory Monday over J.J. Spaun in The Players Championship revealed so much about the state of his game and the cruel nature of the notorious TPC Sawgrass.

McIlroy delivered an early knockout against J.J. Spaun with his best drive of the week that set up a simple birdie, followed by a three-quarter 9-iron into a cold, cackling wind that found land on the island green at the par-3 17th.

“By no means did I have my best stuff this week,” McIlroy said after becoming the eighth multiple winner of The Players. “But I was still able to win one of the biggest tournaments in the world. That’s a huge thing.”

It’s the first time in his career he has won twice going into the Masters, the major that for more than a decade has kept him from joining golf’s most elite group with the career Grand Slam.

Spaun thought he had the perfect answer until he saw his 8-iron sail over the island on the second playoff hole, ending his hopes of the biggest win of his career.

“Can I watch this?” Spaun said as he sat at a table, his eyes trained on a television in the back of the media center showing a replay of his tee shot on the 17th. It was his first time seeing where the ball landed — just beyond the wooden frame and into the water. He had heard only groans from the gallery.

And he still couldn’t believe it.

“I never thought it was long,” he said quietly. “I never thought it was long.”

So ended a memorable week at golf’s richest tournament, where thousands of spectators showed up in the cold and wind for 47 minutes of golf between McIlroy — among the most celebrated players who now has 39 worldwide wins — and Spaun, a 34-year-old with one PGA Tour title who until this week had never broken 70 on the TPC Sawgrass.

McIlroy said he woke up at 3 a.m. and couldn’t get back to sleep. Whether this was about trying to win or trying not to lose — he had a three-shot lead with five holes to play in the final round Sunday — didn’t matter.

He worked on his tee shot with the same helping wind off the right. To practice in the right wind for the 17th, McIlroy turned and hit balls from the range toward the third green.

McIlroy had been spotty off the tee all week, missing nearly half of his fairways. He set the tone with his best of the week, a 336-yard blast right down the middle that set up a pitching wedge from 176 yards into the par-5 16th for a two-putt birdie from 35 feet.

“I thought if I could get the ball in the fairway there, it sort of puts a little bit of pressure on J.J.,” he said. “To step up and make that swing was awesome.”

And then it effectively ended on the 17th.

“When my ball was in the air, I was telling it to get down,” McIlroy said.