The man who brought the best out of Rory McIlroy at the Tour Championship will have a chance to get one back on the Holywood native this week.
McIlroy’s back was against the wall at East Lake Golf Course on Sunday night. The Northern Irishman needed to produce some moments of pure magic in order to win the tournament, the FedEx Cup and that staggering $11.5 million payday.
Some of the shots McIlroy played in Atlanta would make you think he was guiding those golf balls with a wizard’s wand as opposed to smacking them down the fairways and delicately tapping them around the greens with his clubs. One man who deserves some of the credit for McIlroy’s amazing performance was his play-off adversary, Ryan Moore, whose excellent performance brought the play-off to four holes.
The world was agog. The world paid tribute #McIlroy https://t.co/gmR1UQbzqB
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) September 26, 2016
In the end it was McIlroy who claimed the victory and the bulk of the prize money. Moore walked away with an extra $752,250 in his pocket, but his performance also caught the eye of US Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III.
Love III announced during the half-time break of Sunday night’s televised NFL match between Chicago Bears and Dallas Cowboys that Moore had been drafted in as his final wildcard pick for the tournament running at Hazeltine National in Minnesota from 30 September to 2 October.
The world number 42 joins Rickie Fowler, Matt Kuchar and JB Holmes to complete the States’ wildcard linep. Moore’s inclusion also means that there’s no room for world number seven Bubba Watson.
“Ryan fits so well with what we have in place. He’s an easy-going, thoughtful guy, but don’t be fooled. Ryan’s a great match-play player with an incredible match-play record,” said Love.
“He has guts and determination and everyone saw that on Sunday. We are thrilled to have him with us.”
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