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Rory McIlroy won the latest edition of Capital One's The Match, beating Max Homa, Rose Zhang, and Lexi Thompson in a sudden-death playoff.
The ninth edition of The Match took place under the lights at The Park in West Palm Beach, Florida, and was played in a was a 12-hole mixed-skins format event. For the first time in the history of the event, the LPGA Tour players participated in the event, and all four golfers played individually against each other.
McIlroy was making his second appearance at Capital One's The Match. The last time he played at Match VII in 2022, Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth had beaten him and Tiger Woods.
The Captial One's Match went into the sudden death playoff after no one was able to win the final four holes. In the closest-to-pin challenge, McIlroy's shot landed just four feet away from the hole, while the others weren't even near, resulting in his win.
The 24-time PGA Tour winner raised an overall $2.4 million for the charity, including the $500,000 donated by one unnamed friend.
On social media, fans congratulated Rory McIlroy for winning Capital One's exhibition event. Many felt he was too strong to be beaten by others.
Here's a look at some of the reactions:
"Rory for the Win, YES SIR!!!!" one fan wrote.
"Easy money!" another commented.
"That was man vs boys there," one fan averred.
"Exhibition golf," another chimed in.
"Dude LOVES winning anything but Majors," one fan commented.
Here's a look at some of the reactions:
What's next for Rory McIlroy?
The four-time Major champion will next compete at the Cognizant Classic, which is set to commence on Thursday, February 29 at Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
The 2024 Cognizant Classic will have a star-studded field, with 19 of the top 50 players in the OWGR competing this week. World No. 2 Rory McIlroy will be the highest-ranked golfer competing in a $9,000,000 prize purse event.
This is McIlroy's first start at the Cognizant Classic since 2018. He also won the event in 2012. Last month, he said that he would play more events in the build-up to the Masters Tournament to be more prepared this time. So far this year, he has played two events on the DP World Tour and two on the PGA Tour. While he had a runner-up and successful title defense on the European Tour, he is yet to make a top-20 finish on the PGA Tour.
Besides McIlroy, the Cognizant Classic will feature the likes of Matt Fitzpatrick (9), Tom Kim (16), Cameron Young (23), Sepp Straka (25), Matthieu Pavon (26), Chris Kirk (27), Russell Henley (29), Rickie Fowler (31), and Sungjae Im (34) as the top players in action. Kirk is the defending champion at Palm Beach.
