Rory McIlroy starts Tour Championship on the back foot but a lot closer than last year

The wads of greenbacks are within touching distance for those 30 players – Rory McIlroy among them – who finish the PGA Tour season at this week’s Tour Championship. And although the Irishman starts on the back foot, three strokes behind Scottie Scheffler before a ball is hit in anger, he’s still a lot closer than he was last year when he claimed a record third FedEx Cup title.

Under the staggered start format, Scheffler – who heads the standings – will start Thursday’s Tour Championship at 10 under par with BMW champion Viktor Hovland at eight under and McIlroy at seven under ... and all the way down to those in 26th to 30th places (Sam Burns, Emiliano Grillo, Tyrell Hatton, Jordan Spieth and Sepp Straka) who start at level par.

The winner of the FedEx Cup will scoop a pot of gold of $18 million (€16.5 million) and McIlroy – champion in 2016, 2019 and 2022 – will have two putters with him for the two days of preparation before deciding whether to use his TaylorMade Spider or Scotty Cameron come the heat of battle.

McIlroy, who signed off with a 66 for 268 and solo fourth in the BMW at Olympia Fields, five strokes adrift of Hovland who finished with a sensational back nine of 28 strokes for a 61 for 263, returned home to Florida with the intention of getting to Atlanta by lunchtime Tuesday.

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“I might dabble with the Spider again on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Tour Championship. I felt like I hit good putts. Again, I holed some really good putts and I missed some short ones.

“I always felt like I was aiming too high and then I’d miss them low because I just couldn’t commit to aiming it so far outside the hole. I’m getting back on greens that I know pretty well [at East Lake] and I’m pretty confident on next week, I’m looking forward to that,” said McIlroy.

McIlroy identified his driving accuracy as an area for improvement but felt he found something on the back nine of his final round in Chicago to take to Atlanta. “I’m playing great tee-to-green, the best I’ve played in a long time. I’m going to have to drive the ball probably a little straighter. But, overall, I’m in a really good position going into [the Tour Championship], so I’m excited for it.”

Certainly, he knows he can play catch-up in the limited 30-man field. Last year, McIlroy went into the championship six shots behind before it started and then opened up with a double bogey only to leapfrog his way to the very top by the end.

While McIlroy and Hovland will each have their eyes on that top prize on offer at East Lake, their pairing in the final round at Olympia Fields must also have brought good vibes to Europe’s captain Luke Donald ahead of next month’s Ryder Cup in Rome.

Apart from their good play, Hovland’s especially, there was a chemistry to the point where the Norwegian – in the zone – was still able to talk away to McIlroy as he took a step ever closer to sealing the win.

“Rory and I were chatting a little bit coming down the stretch. I didn’t feel like that interrupted whatever zone I was in. It was just nice to chat about other things to kind of keep you a little mellow and not think too much about what you need to do.

“Obviously that’s where your mind is focused at. You want to hit the tee shot in the fairway, hit the iron shot close and make the putt, but I think it’s a nice balance to talk to your caddie, talk to your playing partner, and yeah, take your mind a little bit away from that,” said Hovland.

As McIlroy put it: “I felt like I played very average out there next to Viktor. He played amazing. Yeah, he played incredible. I was marking his card in there and I’m like, oh, you only made one four on the back nine, the rest threes, so it adds up to a nice little 28 for him. It was great to see. He played great ... he’s a world-class player and looking forward to him being on my team for the Ryder Cup in a few weeks’ time.”

[ Viktor Hovland claims fifth PGA Tour title after stunning final round in Chicago ]

Hovland moved up to second in the FedEx Cup standings after his win (his second of the season, having also won The Memorial) and, like McIlroy, has already qualified for Europe’s Ryder Cup team.

There are just two tournaments remaining on the DP World Tour before the six automatic qualifiers are confirmed, this week’s D+D Czech Masters and next week’s Omega European Masters.

Shane Lowry, who failed to make the Fed Ex Cup playoffs, has added the Czech Masters on to this schedule before taking next week off ahead of the upcoming Horizon Irish Open at The K Club and the defence of his BMW PGA title at Wentworth. At this stage, he will need a wild-card pick from Donald to ensure he is on the plane to Rome for the Ryder Cup.

Similarly, Séamus Power – who failed to make it to the Tour Championship after a disappointing performance in Chicago – would also need a wild card selection. He is next scheduled to play at the Irish Open at The K Club, where he is the touring professional.

There are three Irish players in the field in Prague, with Pádraig Harrington opting to play on the DP World Tour rather than the Champions Tour and John Murphy looking to find some late-season form.