Snedeker beats McIlroy to capture FedEx Cup

ATLANTA — Brandt Snedeker played the biggest round of his career for the biggest payoff in golf.

Needing to win the Tour Championship on Sunday to beat out Rory McIlroy for the FedEx Cup, Snedeker came up with three big birdies on the back nine at East Lake to take all the drama out of a final day that had been loaded with possibilities.

Snedeker hit his final tee shot into the grandstand left the 18th green and made bogey. By then, it didn't matter. So dominant was his performance that he was the only player from the last five groups who managed to break par, closing with a 2-under 68.

Along the way, he answered any questions about why Davis Love III made him a captain's pick for the Ryder Cup next week at Medinah.

Snedeker won by three shots over Justin Rose (71) in the Tour Championship, his second title of the year, and collected $1.44 million. And he won the $10 million bonus for capturing the FedEx Cup, which comes with a five-year exemption on the PGA Tour.

McIlroy and Tiger Woods, both of whom could have won the FedEx Cup with a victory Sunday, faded early and were never a factor.

Snedeker joins Woods (twice), Vijay Singh, Jim Furyk and Bill Haas as winners of the FedEx Cup in its six-year history.

McIlroy had won the last two playoff events and three of his last four tournaments dating to his eight-shot win in the PGA Championship. He still is virtually a lock to be voted PGA Tour player of the year, but he had to settle for second place in the FedEx Cup.

"I knew what I needed to do," McIlroy said. "I needed to win. Brandt knew what he needed to do. And he played fantastic. He really deserved it."

It was an emotional week in so many ways for Snedeker, already a high-strung personality. His father, Larry, flew in to watch final round at East Lake, only the second tournament he has attended since having a liver transplant last year.

Snedeker stopped by a hospital in Atlanta to visit Tucker Anderson, the son of his swing coach who was critically injured in a recent car accident and remains unable to communicate with words.

"I asked him if he thought I was going to beat Rory McIlroy, and he gave me a wink," Snedeker said.

He beat everybody at East Lake in a convincing fashion. After taking a double bogey on the par-3 sixth when he hit his tee shot into the water, Snedeker responded with a 40-foot birdie putt on the eighth, an 18-foot birdie putt on No. 13, and chipping in from short of the 17th green to end all doubt.

"I had complete confidence in what I was doing," Snedeker said.

He finished on 10-under 270 and will move into the top 10 in the world ranking for the first time in his career.

Ryan Moore made the strongest run at Snedeker on the back nine, and with an up-and-down behind the par-5 15th green for back-to-back birdies, he was tied for the lead. Moore never was in the mix for the $10 million bonus, though he could have affected the outcome of the FedEx Cup.

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Tiger takes aim at critics with first-round 66 in FedEx finale

ATLANTA — In the one week Tiger Woods had away from golf during the FedEx Cup playoffs, Nick Faldo said he had lost his aura, Greg Norman said he was intimidated by Rory McIlroy and Johnny Miller claimed that Woods once wanted lessons from him.

"Nice week, huh?" Woods said, grinning.

Even better was to be back on the course Thursday at the Tour Championship, where Woods had the final word for at least for one day. He kept the ball in play at East Lake, chipped in for one of his six birdies and wound up with a 4-under 66 for a share of the lead with Justin Rose.

It was the first step toward what Woods hopes is a third FedEx Cup title, and another $10 million bonus.

"I probably could have gotten a couple more out of it," Woods said about his opening round. "But I was probably right on my number."

McIlroy, playing with Woods for the fifth time in these FedEx Cup playoffs, got up-and-down from short of the par-3 18th hole for a 69. McIlroy is trying to become the first player since Woods in 2006 to win three straight PGA Tour events in the same season, and he wasn't overly alarmed by his start.

"Wish I could have shot a couple shots better," McIlroy said. "But I'm in a good position going into tomorrow."

The week began with Norman saying that Woods was intimidated by McIlroy, a suggestion that both players found amusing. While it's doubtful that inspired Woods, he played as if he wasn't ready to let McIlroy win a third straight playoff event and capture the FedEx Cup.

McIlroy, who has won three of his last four tournaments, and Woods are among the top five seeds at East Lake who only have to win the Tour Championship to claim the largest payoff in golf. Woods wasn't interested in what anyone else was doing.

"Just winning," he said. "Winning takes care of everything."

Jack Nicklaus even weighed in on Norman's comments to FoxSports.com. Nicklaus was doing a radio interview with ESPN 980 in Washington when told about Norman's remarks that McIlroy intimidated Woods. Nicklaus said playfully, "Quiet, Greg. Quiet. Down, boy."

"I think Tiger has a lot of wins left in him," Nicklaus said. "He does have a lot more competition. During the couple of years when Tiger wasn't really there, all of a sudden you have Rory McIlroy, Keegan Bradley and I could probably name a half-dozen other guys that have all won and learned how to win in Tiger's absence. They're not scared of him anymore."

Rose swiftly moved up the leaderboard late in his round with three birdies over the last five holes, and the last one was memorable. From the back of the green on the par-3 18th, Rose faced a 50-foot putt with some 20 feet of break from right to left. It looked wide the whole way until it snapped back toward the cup.

Equally impressive was chipping in from some 20 yards short of the 14th green for the birdie that started his big run.

Rose is 24th in the FedEx Cup, meaning he would have to win and everyone at the top of the standings would have to falter. The way Woods started, that looked improbable. Rose checked the leaderboard early on, not to see his projected standing, but to get an idea of how the course was playing.

That part was easy to decipher. On a warm day, with the sun finally breaking through cloud cover in the middle of the afternoon, no one was tearing up the place.

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