Rory hoists the Fedex Cup after winning at East Lake.

Atlanta, Georgia - It was a year ago that Rory McIlroy was the lost combatant

in the final group for Tiger's big return to the winner's circle at East Lake. Just

recently, the 30 year old Ulsterman held the lead at the WGC in Memphis but

was routed by Brooks Koepka in the final group. In this year's edition at East

Lake with the Fedex Cup and $15 million first prize up for grabs, Rory got another

shot at the World No.1. In this rematch, McIlroy showed Koepka what it's like to

face the most talented ball striker in the game when he's on.

As McIlroy piled up birdies on holes 12 & 13 stretching his lead over Xander

Schauffele and Koepka (who was busy piling up bogeys on holes 12 thru 14),

he began to leak oil himself upon reaching 18 under par. McIlroy bogeyed holes

14 & 15, but a clutch 15 ft downhill par saving putt on the 16th brought out a

rare fist pump, followed by another medium length birdie putt holed on the

penultimate hole. With victory in his sights, McIlroy piped his driver down the

middle on the home hole. His 5 iron from 225 yards found the greenside sand,

he splashed out to 7 feet and began to hear the chant "Rory, Rory, Rory" -

reminiscent of what he observed last year as Woods marched to victory. McIlroy

then stepped up center cut another - this one being the final putt of the 2019

PGA Tour season, his Cassius Clay to Sonny Liston downward air punch told you

all that you needed to know. He wanted this one.

"Amazing how differently things can be in a year," McIlroy admitted. Indeed. Up

until Sunday, Tiger Woods was the only player to ever win the Fedex Cup twice.

"Any time you've done something that only Tiger's done, you've done something

right," McIlroy said.

Xander Schauffele finished solo 2nd at 14 under par. Justin Thomas and Brooks

Koepka finished another shot back tied for 3rd. For Koepka, he will likely win

Player of the Year, but Rory takes the momentum into the next decade...

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Justin Thomas acknowledges the applause after winning at Medinah on Sunday

Medinah, Illinois - Justin Thomas claimed his 10th career PGA Tour victory at

the BMW Championship in round 2 of the Fedex Cup Playoffs at Medinah

Country Club in Chicago. Thomas closed out the field with a final round 68

to finish at 25 under par, three strokes clear of Patrick Cantlay - who fired

a final round 65.

Thomas now heads to East Lake for the Tour Championship leading the

Fedex Cup Cup standings. Thomas 26, became only the fifth player in

the last 75 years to win 10 PGA Tour events (including a major) before

age 27 - Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth are

the only others to have accomplished such a feat.

"I was really nervous today. It's hard to play with a lead," Thomas said.

"You don't know how often things like this will happen, and it feels great."

Tiger Woods won't be making the trip back to Atlanta to defend his title at

East Lake after shooting an even par 72 to finish T37 (7 under par). The

2019 Masters Champion finished 42nd in the Fedex Cup standings.

Hideki Matsuyama fired two 63's (Friday and Sunday) to finish at -20,

for solo 3rd place.

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Patrick Reed celebrates after winning the Northern Trust at Liberty National

Jersey City, New Jersey - It's been awhile since Patrick Reed won a big

event, April of 2018 to exact - the Masters at Augusta National. He's

battled back this season after some well documented swing issues.

Reed's strong finish on Sunday offset a shaky start, holding off Abraham

Ancer by one shot (after finishing with a final round 69 for a winning score

of 16 under par) and two over Jon Rahm and Harold Varner III.

"It was a grind out there today, that's for sure," Reed said. "Felt amazing

being back in that position, having a chance to go into Sunday with the

lead."

It was just a few months ago that his wife Justine made a mayday call to

bring in David Leadbetter at the Valspar Championship to aid Reed with

his failing tee to green game. "To have those kind of long droughts is

not fun," Reed said. "I feel like the longer that time period is in between

wins, it just makes it tougher. I was pushing too hard and was trying harder

to win and all of a sudden it was going in the wrong direction. My team

was smart enough to tell me to back off, shut it down and reset and get

clear, because we can finish the year right."

And right he has, jumping from 50th to 2nd in the standings after the

first of three Fedex Cup Playoff events. The victory guarantees him a spot

in the 30 player Tour Championship finale at East Lake.

World No.1 Brooks Koepka remains in the top spot in the standings, with

Reed and Rory McIlroy closing the gap as the tour heads to Chicago for

the BMW Championship at Medinah.

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