McIlroy and Woods look to step it up a gear at BMW after early finish in Boston

The two one-time poster boys of professional golf played out a lonely twosome in the final round of the Northern Trust at TPC Boston in the first of the FedEx Cup playoffs, with Tiger Woods at least earning the consolation of getting the bragging rights over Rory McIlroy.

Woods closed with a 66 for a total of 278, McIlroy with a 69 for 282 and, if their efforts on Saturday when also playing together had brought the solace of a post-round indulgence in cheeseburgers, this finish brought with it the reality that better days surely lie ahead.

Next up for both Woods and McIlroy is the BMW Championship in Chicago, the penultimate tournament before the season-ending Tour Championship. Woods has some work to do if he is get break into the top-30 who make it to East Lake, while McIlroy at least knows his itinerary will take him that far but aware that he has still to find a spark to kickstart the post-lockdown resumption.

For Woods, like McIlroy, seeking to find a way to fuel the energy of competition in the absence of any spectators, there was an acceptance that his game isn’t where it should be: “I haven’t played my best [since the resumption]. I haven’t really played that much. This has been a very different year for all of us, and that’s one of the things that we’ve all had to make adjustments, and for me, I’m just now starting to get into the rhythm and flow of competing and playing again. Hopefully it gets better.”

Leona Maguire left playing waiting game

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On the European Tour, Frenchman Roman Langasque – a former British Amateur champion – finally realised his potential as he made his breakthrough with a closing round 65 for a total of eight-under-par 276 to claim a two-stroke winning margin over Finland's Sami Valimaki at the Wales Open. It proved to be a disastrous final round for longtime leader Connor Syme at Celtic Manor as the Scot finished with a 75 that saw him drop to a share of eighth.

Langasque’s win earned him a payday of €156,825 and also gained him exemption into next month’s US Open at Winged Foot.

It proved to be a very disappointing finish for the trio of Irish players who survived the cut, with Cormac Sharvin closing with a 76 for 289 (tied-63rd), Paul Dunne a 73 for 292 (tied-73rd) and Jonny Caldwell a 76 for 293 (tied-76th).

And, in the AIG Women's British Open, Sophia Popov became the first German woman to win a Major title when she finished in style with a final round 68 for a total of seven-under-par 277 at Royal Troon for a two-stroke winning margin over Jasmine Suwannapura, with Australia's Minjee Lee in third.

Popov, who has been playing on the Symetra Tour for much of the season and earned her place in the field following a top-10 finish in the recent LPGA Marathon Classic where a number of players from the secondary tour secured places, earned a winner’s cheque for €575,000 and also secured a five-year exemption on the LPGA Tour.

Stephanie Meadow, the only Irish player to cut, finished with a 71 for nine-over-par 293 in tied-39th place.