McIlroy closes in on $10m jackpot

Rory McIlroy took a stranglehold on the $10m FedEx Cup and made another mark in the history books when he outplayed old enemy Lee Westwood in a thrilling back-nine battle to capture the BMW Championship at Crooked Stick for his second PGA Tour win in a row and his third in four starts.

The 23-year old world No 1 closed with a stunning, five-under-par 67 to win by two shots from Westwood and Phil Mickelson (70) on 20 under par, clinching his fourth PGA Tour win of the season and his third in a run of four events that began with his runaway eight-shot US PGA Championship triumph 28 days ago.

As Graeme McDowell and Pádraig Harrington failed to make the top-30 in the FedEx Cup race who qualified for next week’s Tour Championship in Atlanta, McIlroy became the first player to win back-to-back events on the US Tour since Tiger Woods in 2009