Rory McIlroy played the 16th hole at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta twice on the final day and needed only one putt.
McIlroy sank a 14-foot birdie putt on the fourth playoff hole, No. 16 where he made an eagle earlier, to beat Ryan Moore in a dramatic battle to capture the Tour Championship and the FedEx Cup.
“It’s incredible,” McIlroy, from Northern Ireland, said after claiming 13th PGA Tour victory, the most on the circuit since 2010. “All I wanted to concentrate on was playing a good round of golf today and winning the Tour Championship, and I was able to get into a tie in regulation.
“I played with Ryan all day and he played really well. … My game is really coming together, with two wins in the last three tournaments. I knew I had to win if I was going to win the FedEx Cup.”
McIlroy, who wedged his second shot into the hole from 137 yards at No. 16 in regulation, and Moore closed with 6-under-par 64s to finish even with Kevin Chappell, who shot 66, at 12-under 268.
Chappell, from Fresno and UCLA, dropped out of the playoff with a par on the first extra hole, where Moore ran in a 10-foot birdie putt before McIlroy lipped out a six-foot eagle try that would have given him the victory.
It was McIlroy who needed a putt to stay alive on the third extra hole, where he sank an eight-footer for par before winning it all one hole later.
McIlroy, who also captured the Deutsche Bank Championship during the playoffs, collected $1.53 million for winning the tournament and the $10-million bonus for winning the FedEx Cup.
Paul Casey, who finished second in the previous two playoff events, also shot 64 and was three strokes back in fourth, followed by Hideki Matsuyama of Japan, who was six shots behind after a 69.
Dustin Johnson, who came in as the FedEx Cup points leader after winning the BMW Championship in week three of the playoffs, took a one-stroke lead into the final round but struggled to a 73 and tied for sixth Justin Thomas, who wound up at 67.
Adam Scott of Australia holed a nine-foot eagle putt on the last hole to finish a bogey-free 65 and was eight shots back in a tie for eighth with Jason Dufner, who came in at 70.
Bubba Watson, hoping to earn the final spot in the United States team for the Ryder Cup next week, shot 67 and finished 10 back in a tie for 10th with rookie Si Woo Kim (65) of South Korea, Gary Woodland (67), rookie Emiliano Grillo (69) and Charl Schwartzel (71) of South Africa.
Matt Kuchar tied for 15th after a 69, Jordan Spieth shot 68 to tie for 17th, Phil Mickelson collected six birdies on the back nine in a 66 to finish 22nd and Patrick Reed, who won The Barclays to open the playoffs, tied for 24th after a third straight 70.
