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Rory McIlroy climbs the ladder to world No. 1 By the close of 2021, the immensely talented and likable Northern Irish- man Rory McIlroy had dropped all the way to ninth in the Official World Golf Rankings. Then something clicked. Legions of fans renewed their love affair with Rory, thanks to his fierce defense of life on the PGA Tour. He nearly stole the Masters in April with a final-round 64, which elevated him to second. He finished eighth at the PGA Championship in May. He con- tended throughout June's U.S. Open, eventually landing in a tie for fifth. And then came the Open Champi- onship at St. Andrews. With the world rooting him on, he did everything ex- cept win, finishing T3. Undeterred, Rors roared back. After previously defending at the RBC Canadian Open in June, he ar- rived in Atlanta in August for the Tour Championship, essentially play- ing for second behind Scottie Scheffler. And then the impossible happened. From six shots back in the final round, McIlroy caught fire, shooting 66 and somehow edged out Scheffler (and Sungjae Im) by one to win the FedEx Cup. That catapulted him to No. 1 in the world — and there wasn't a dry eye in the house. u u u Matt Fitzpatrick bags the rare Brookline double Beware the dark horse with a chip on his shoulder. Matt Fitzpatrick had the track record to win, place, or show, given he had captured the 2013 U.S. Amateur over the same historic course at The Country Club at Brookline. He was also a Ryder Cup player, with seven victories on the European Tour. Yet, many pundits dismissed him because he was winless on the PGA Tour. That was the extra spark Fitzpatrick needed. He dispatched his doubters — and his closest contenders Scottie Scheffler and Will Zalatoris — with a 50-foot birdie putt at 13, a 19-foot birdie putt at 15 and a remarkable two-putt par at 18, set up by a superb 155-yard fairway bunker shot. When Zalatoris' 14-foot putt slipped by the hole, Fitzpatrick joined Jack Nicklaus as the only golfers ever to win a U.S. Open and a U.S. Ama- teur at the same golf course. u u u Scottie Scheffler caps a three-month sprint Scottie Scheffler won the U.S. Junior Amateur in 2013. He starred at the University of Texas. He made the Walker Cup team in 2017 and the Ryder Cup team in 2021. But as 2022 dawned, he hadn't tasted victory on the PGA Tour. Boy, did that change in a hurry. Scheffler broke through in a Febru- ary WM Phoenix Open playoff win over Patrick Cantlay. Three weeks later, another trophy for the mantle, at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill. In late March, he claimed the << "It is so cliche, but it's stuff you dream of as a kid. Yeah, to achieve it, I can retire a happy man." – Matt Fitzpatrick, on winning the 2022 U.S. Open Keep reading >>> ver.indd 1 12/1/1 ver.indd 1 12/1/1 ver.indd 1 12/1/1 ver.indd 1 12/1/1 TOUR REPORT Matt Fitzpatrick won the U.S. Open with a rousing finish. Credit: Marco Iacobucci Epp / shutterstock.com