Monday 26 September 2016 07:19, UK
Nick Dougherty reflects on a huge payday for Rory McIlroy and a dramatic end to the FedExCup season at East Lake.
That was extraordinary and the whole day was topsy-turvy. It seemed coming in to the day that it was nailed-on that Dustin Johnson was going to clean up, and it was just a case of how many he was going to win by.
But Rory McIlroy played the Rory McIlroy we know he can be. His CV is pretty special and this was one of the things missing from it, but the fashion he has just won the Tour Championship and FedExCup in makes it a day to remember.
" I wouldn't want to be an American facing Rory McIlroy next week!"
It felt like McIlroy had won it when he hit the approach in to the first play-off hole, which was such an incredible shot in to the green. When that putt for eagle somehow didn't drop you felt that it might just slip from his grasp. That just wasn't the case though.
We've talked about Rory changing things with his putting and the leaps and bounds that he has made, and then you look at the putt he ended up holing at the fourth extra hole to make all of this possible. It really has been a truly remarkable day for him.
The likes of Jason Day and Dustin Johnson have come in to the group of top players over the past year or so, but I think sometimes people forget just how powerful Rory McIlroy is when he's at his very best.
He's fearless when he's at his peak and plays golf in the ilk of Tiger Woods when he was in his prime. We saw that today and his performance at times today was simply as good as it gets, in terms of the quality he displayed at the highest pressure.
I can't imagine how Dustin Johnson is feeling, as the start of the day it was hard to think of any scenario where something like this could happen.
All of the cards went the right way for Rory and he got the slip from DJ he needed, but McIlroy still had to go out and deliver the result he did. I wouldn't want to be an American facing Rory McIlroy next week!
Watch Rory McIlroy in action for Europe at the Ryder Cup - live from September 30-October 2 on the Ryder Cup channel
