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The transformation inside a week was remarkable for Rory McIlroy, making a positive move from Mr Hyde to Dr Jekyll but still coming up just short of victory in the $20 million BMW Championship at Bellerive Country club in St Louis in the penultimate event of the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup playoffs. A week after labouring to a 66th-place finish in a field of 69 at the St Jude Championship in Memphis, McIlroy was transformed in getting into the business end of the proceedings in the BMW; and, although he started the final round five strokes adrift of US Open champion Wyndham Clark, the Northern Irishman was tied for lead through 15 holes before Clark ultimately found a way to edge ahead. Clark struggled for a large part of his final round – three over through 15 holes before a hat-trick of birdies to close his round allowed him to control his own destiny – as he shot a final-round 70 for a total of 17-under-par 263, which gave him a three-shots winning margin over Patrick Cantlay with McIlroy, who shot a closing 69, alone in solo third. McIlroy’s putter went cold on the closing holes, burning the edges time and time again, as Clark’s finally went hot in that scintillating run of three birdies to close the deal and claim the $3.6 million winner’s pay cheque. READ MORE The leading 30 players on the FedEx Cup standings progress to the Tour Championship in Atlanta where each will start with a level playing field. “It was weird, I wasn’t really nervous I was kind of out of it, making dumb bogeys and couldn’t make anything ... it was fun actually, as much as I would like to have run away with this, it was fun to get the juices going,” said Clark, winner or the US Open in June, of finally finding a way home. Scottie Scheffler, the world number one, ensured he scooped the $23 million FedEx Cup bonus, despite a disappointing week where he finished with a 68 for 273 in tied-12th after suffering from illness. “I got the hand, foot, mouth. So you get blisters on your hands and in your throat and on your feet. To start the week it was pretty painful to grip the club. If I was smarter maybe I would have pulled out, but I was playing so good I felt like if I could knock it out quickly and just get through the first couple rounds I would still have a chance. But I think that’s part of my stubbornness, probably. That’s probably a strength of mine and a weakness at times,” said Scheffler. “I’ve never been one to ever pull out of a tournament, especially in the middle of it. That’s really frustrating for me. I definitely didn’t want to do that going into this week, even though it was suggested. But I’m proud of how I fought. Feel like I’m starting to heal up. My throat is still bugging me pretty good. But my hands feel normal today. Hopefully the throat will clear up the next couple days.” Scotland’s Bob MacIntyre moved from 36th to 24th in the FedEx Cup standings to progress to the Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta, having overcome his own injury issues which were related to his shinty playing. “It’s good to extend the season on the PGA Tour an extra week, a satisfying round of golf,” admitted MacIntyre, who shot a closing 65 for 270 to claim a tied-seventh finish. “I’ve got a Baker’s cyst in the back of my right knee. I’ve got that from playing shinty back home, it was like someone was stabbing me in the bottom of the hamstring. The boys [physios] in the truck there have done a great job this week getting me feeling like I can play. I can’t thank them enough.”