Rory McIlroy and JJ Spaun set for Monday playoff at The Players Championship

The 42

RORY MCILROY WILL face JJ Spaun in a play-off tomorrow to decide who will win the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass.

The pair both finished on 12-under after a tense final round which was interrupted by bad weather. The playoff will be a three-hole aggregate format on holes 16, 17 and 18, beginning at 9 am local time, and 1pm Irish time.

McIlroy began the final round four shots off the lead but a brilliant start helped take the world number two to the top of the leaderboard on 12-under through 11 before play was suspended due to the threat of lightning.

McIlroy stormed through the front nine with a birdie and eagle to start. He dropped a shot on the seventh but quickly recovered with a birdie on eight before adding another birdie on the 11th before the bad weather moved in.

He made a brilliant start on the resumption, opening up a three-shot lead with a super birdie putt that circled the lips before sinking.

A bogey on 14 brought him back to the chasing pack after a wayward drive proved costly. JJ Spaun, who was the leader heading into the final round, capitalised on that error with a birdie on the 14th to leave him just a shot behind McIlroy.

Advertisement

McIlroy navigated the water brilliantly on 17 with a shot that circled the green before settling nicely against the edge of the rough, but he couldn’t find the birdie that would give him some breathing space.

But as McIlroy parred, Spaun climbed up to tie the lead with a tap-in birdie on 16. Spaun lost ground on the 17th after his tee shot rolled back over a tricky slope. He recovered well to make par and keep the pressure on McIlroy.

McIlroy then striped his drive on 18 but slipped up with his approach shot as his ball rolled back down the green. He managed the lag putt to set himself up for par, and was relieved to see his ball fall after it peeped up over the side. A final round of 68 for McIlroy.

Over to Spaun then to force a play-off. He almost snatched the title with a superb long putt that fell just inches short. He tapped in to confirm tomorrow’s play-off and sign off the day with a 72.

Shane Lowry, who was four-under for his final round through 17 before play was suspended, ended with a 67 to see him finish on five-under for the round and four-under overall.

Lowry started on the 10th and went on a blistering run of four birdies in a row between the 13th and 16th holes. He added three more on the third, seventh and nine holes but was unfortunate to strike a double-bogey on the eighth in an otherwise brilliant final-round performance.

Written by Sinead Farrell and originally published on The 42 whose award-winning team produces original content that you won’t find anywhere else: on GAA, League of Ireland, women’s sport and boxing, as well as our game-changing rugby coverage, all with an Irish eye. Subscribe here.