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For Rory McIlroy, 2022 was one of the best years statistically. Despite not winning a Major, McIlroy achieved some glory this year, and by the end of the year, he reached the top position in the OWGR.
Mcilroy won three titles this year: the RBC Canadian Open, the TOUR Championship, and the CJ Cup. Apart from victories, he finished in the top 10 in all four Majors, with a top-five finish in 12 events.
Here's a look at the five best moments of Rory McIlroy's 2022.
Win at RBC Canadian Open
Rory McIlroy defended his title at the Canadian Open, for which he had to wait for three years (thanks to Covid). In the final round, McIlroy finished with a score of 8 under 62. He concluded with an aggregate of 19-under total, defeating Tony Finau by a margin of two strokes.
McIlroy said to the PGA Tour after the win:
“Sort of rededicated myself to the game a little bit. Sort of realized what made me happy, and this makes me happy.”
Win at 2022 Tour Championship
He fielded 23 birdies to successfully win his third FedEx title. With this, he became only the second player in the FedEx era to score 23 or more birdies on the PGA Tour.
For his third Tour Championship, McIlroy beat Scottie Scheffler and Im Sung-jae by a margin of one stroke. While claiming his third FedEx Cup victory, he surpassed Tiger Woods, who won two.
Successfully defended the CJ Cup
Just like the Canadian Open, McIlroy came to South Carolina as a defending champion, and just like the Canadian Open, he successfully defended the CJ Cup, his 23rd PGA TOUR title.
His final score was 17 under a shot ahead of American Kurt Kitayama. With the win, he became No. 1 in the Official World Golf Rankings for the first time since July 2020.
Runner up in Masters
McIlroy came to the Masters to complete a Career Grand Slam. He came close to it but had to console himself as a runner-up at Augusta National, his first top-two finish here.
He scored a final-round 64, his first sub-65 at the Masters. One moment came at the Masters when he holed out a birdie from the bunker on the 72nd hole.
McIlroy won his fourth Harry Vardon Trophy
In November, McIlroy came to the DP World Tour Championship as No. 1 in the DP World Tour Rankings. He didn't win the title, but his fourth-place finish was enough for him to win the Harry Vardon Trophy for the third time.
McIlroy said in his speech:
"It means a lot. It’s been seven years since I’ve last done it. I’ve won three FedEx Cups since I last won… I've been able to win this tour’s rankings and finish the year as world No. 1, but to do it in America as well, yeah, it's very cool."
The "Harry Vardon Trophy" is given by the European Tour to the winner of Race To Dubai.
