Rory McIlroy finished tied 18th at the Travelers Championship as Keegan Bradley won his first PGA Tour title since 2018.
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Rory McIlroy finished tied for sixth on 12-under-par (Image: Getty Images)
Rory McIlroy didn’t seem set for a major payday from the Travelers Championship’s £14.8million ($20m) prize fund after carding a 71 on Friday at TPC River Highlands in Connecticut. Yet, the 2025 Masters champion rallied with a Saturday 68 and a solid front nine on Sunday. Following a misjudged approach on the 15th, a par-four, McIlroy was forced to play from among the spectators in a bid to keep up with Scottie Scheffler, who was in sixth place.
Executing a stunning chip from the crowd to within 20 feet of the pin, McIlroy holed the putt for his third birdie on the back nine. He wrapped up with three straight pars, ensuring he finished on par with Scheffler. That ensured that rather than pocketing $670,000 £499k), McIlroy’s efforts meant he and Scheffler both took home $695,000 (£518k), preventing Scheffler from earning $720,000 (£536k) and allowing McIlroy to pinch an extra $25k (£18k).
Reflecting on his week, McIlroy remarked: “It was a good way to end the week. Yeah, sort of good, positive vibes going into a couple-week break here and get ready for Scotland and The Open Championship.
“But, yeah, definitely saw some positive signs in the game overall, which was really good to see. Yeah, looking forward to getting back over to my neck of the woods for a couple weeks and be prepared for a little bit of links golf.”
Despite victories at both the Masters and the Players Championship, McIlroy has found himself struggling of late. He ended up tied for 12th at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and tied for seventh at the Truist Championship.
He also had disappointing performances at two major tournaments, finishing tied for 47th at the PGA Championship and tied for 19th at the US Open following a disastrous first round. McIlroy failed to make the cut at the RBC Canadian Open, which took place between the two majors.
Now, the 36-year-old will enjoy some time off before his season resumes over the summer. “Yeah, I think more so than anything else it will just be good for me mentally to take a little bit of a break and, yeah, as I said, get back to my neck of the woods, get back to the U.K. for a little bit, excited for that,” McIlroy said.
“Yeah, I’ve alluded to the fact I probably haven’t taken enough time off or time to reflect after what happened in April, so I’m excited to do a little bit of that over these next two weeks. “.
Scheffler kicked off the tournament with a robust 62 on Thursday, mirroring McIlroy’s performance with a birdie on the 15th, three more on the back nine, and finishing with three pars for an overall score of 65 on Sunday.