& # 039; Beating Rory makes this more special & # 039; – Koepka wins in Memphis while McIlroy fades
Rory McIlroy was the only player in the top 10 to get over par on SundayFinal round leaderboard-16 B Koepka (US); -13 W Simpson (USA); -12 M Leishman (Aus); -11 R McIlroy (NI), T Fleetwood (Eng), M Fitzpatrick (Eng); -10 J Rahm (Spa); -9 I Poulter (Eng) Selected others: -8 B Watson (US); -7 J Rose (Eng); -6 A Rai (Eng), J Spieth (US), J Thomas (US); -5 D Johnson (US)
Rory McIlroy could not turn his night lead into victory at the WGC-FedEx St Jude Invitational when Brooks Koepka won to further prove why he is the world's best player .
Northern Ireland McIlroy, 30, carded a final round 71 to drive five shots of the American Koepka, who shot 65.
Koepka, 29, who won four majors in the last two years, finished 16 under.
English pair Tommy Fleetwood and Matt Fitzpatrick on a tie with McIlroy on 11 under.
American Webb Simpson shot a last day 64 – the lowest count of the day – to finish second, one shot ahead of Australian Marc Leishman.
The Spanish world number eight Jon Rahm, who led after the opening round, finished at 10 under, with Ian Poulter of England a shot farther back.
& # 39; Beating Rory makes this more special & # 39;
McIlroy hoped to bounce back from his nightmare at the Open by winning the prestigious WGC title in a top-class field in Memphis.
An eight-under third round of 62 on Saturday saw McIlroy Koepka lead by a shot in the final round.
But the four-time big winner, who missed the cutback for home support at Royal Portrush last week, saw his slender advantage disappear quickly when the American moved the par-five third to his playing partner.
Koepka, 29, further increased pressure by sinking back-to-back birdies at five and six, giving him a three-shot swing over McIlroy, who missed several birdie putts when he opened with 11 consecutive pars.
Bogeys at 12 and 15, albeit with a little bird wedged at 14, saw McIlroy's hope fade when Koepka continued to win his first WGC title.
Koepka said his final lap, where he didn't drop a shot and rarely looked like he lost his grip on the scoreboard, was almost at his best 9459002]
"It feels really good. I knew I had to make a few putts and overtaking Rory by nine would be great, "Koepka said.
"I played really solid. The goal was not to make bogeys and I got rid of bogey, so I'm really satisfied.
" Winning this title against Rory was pretty special. "
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