Rory McIlroy is $2 million richer after he claimed the top spot at this weekends Shanghai Masters, defeating fellow competitor Anthony Kim during the first hole of a playoff.
After Kim missed a 3-foot putt for par McIlroy sunk a 2-foot par for the victory.
The match would have ended sooner but McIlroy missed an 8-foot birdie putt during regulation which sent the match into a playoff. Rory ended up closing at 18 under on a 72 final round, tying Kim who finished the final round at 69.
Speaking about his victory McIlroy said:
“Even if it’s scrappy golf where you grind it out, you’re going to win a lot more tournaments by doing that rather than playing your best golf the whole week. I was very happy I was able to pull this one out.”
The Shanghai Masters first prize of $2 million is the richest in golf and for his second place effort Kim will also walk away with $750,000.
Talking to the press about his second place finish Kim sounded pleased:
“It was an exciting final day and a tough finish for me personally,” and “We had a lot fun out there today.”
When asked about his troubles on opening day McIlroy said:
“I felt good standing on the first tee obviously with a three-shot lead,” and “I thought my second shot was very good. It was just a little unfortunate to hit the pin and ricochet back off the green. To go from three ahead to one ahead after the first hole was obviously not the start I was looking for.”
Are you surprised that McIlroy pulled off the victor with some sloppy play thrown in?
