NORTON, Mass. — It wasn’t exactly hurricane-like conditions at TPC Boston, but it certainly wasn’t ideal weather for golf.
The remnants of Hurricane Hermine didn’t bring any rain during Monday’s final round of the Deutsche Bank Championship, but a light rain probably would have been more preferable for some golfers than the strong gusts of wind.
“I thought it blew really hard,” Jimmy Walker (12-under-par) said. “It was very playable early and then it seemed like about No. 9 for us it really started to kick up. And then the back nine was pretty brutal.”
He added: “(The wind was) swirling and heavy. It was heavy, heavy, really gusty. I don’t know what it was gusting to, but it felt like a lot.”
In anticipation of the heavy winds, the tee times were moved up significantly. The leaders teed off just after 9 a.m. ET, and each grouping was a threesome. And to make things even quicker, the groupings went off both No. 1 and 10.
Of course, the conditions didn’t stop Rory McIlroy from shooting an impressive 6-under-par 65 to win the second leg of the FedEx Cup at 15-under, but it still had a major impact.
“Massive,” third-round leader Paul Casey said of how much the wind played a factor. “… (McIlroy’s)Â round of golf, you know, should really be applauded. That’s stellar stuff.”
Let’s take a look at a few more notes from an unconventional final round at TPC Boston.
— McIlroy obviously earned the championship trophy with his win, but that wasn’t all.
Oh, and McIlroy got a belt, too. pic.twitter.com/rh6c5bXJOe
— Cameron McDonough (@Cam_McDonough) September 5, 2016
“World heavyweight title,” McIlroy joked afterward. “No, they gave me this belt four years ago (when I won the Deutsche Bank Championship). I got it four years ago, and someone just gave it to me and said it wasn’t presented in four years. And this obviously is the last time Deutsche Bank is sponsoring it, so I get to keep it.”
But don’t expect him to wear it.
“No, I’ll display it,” he said. “It will be a nice display piece.
— There was one local guy on the course on championship Monday. Jon Curran, who was born in Hopkinton, Mass., rebounded after a tough third round to shoot 1-under-par 70. He finished tied for 67th overall at 3-over.
“It was great,” Curran said of the support he had at TPC Boston. “I mean, I had a lot of fun. It was a little nerve-wracking at the very start of it because it’s the first time I’ve been here. I obviously really, really want to compete, play well, not only for them but for myself, and it was a little bit of pressure-packed beginning of the week. But it evened out a little bit and it was fine. It was fun.”
— McIlroy wasn’t the only notable golfer with an impressive final round. Adam Scott also shot 6-under to finish at 11-under overall, while Dustin Johnson went from a 75 on Sunday to a 66 in Round 4.
— Jordan Spieth (7-under) and Jason Day (8-under) were paired together Monday, and while they weren’t in contention, they certainly had some fun.
— Patrick Reed quietly backed up his win at The Barclays with a tie for fifth at TPC Boston. As a result, he still is No. 1 in the FedEx Cup playoff rankings.
— As for the rest of the rankings, Day (second), Johnson (third), McIlroy (fourth) and Scott (fifth) round out the top five. Curran (69th) and Marc Leishman (70th) just made the cut for the BMW Championship.
Thumbnail photo via Mark Konezny/USA TODAY Sports Images
