The Tour Championship 2012: Brandt Snedeker wins Tournament, FedEx Cup

Rory McIlroy knew what he had to do to cash the $10 million bonus check that Brandt Snedeker pocketed with his three-shot Tour Championship win on Sunday. The world No. 1, and runner-up in the FedEx Cup sweepstakes, conceded he was disheartened not to cap off his stellar PGA Tour season with one more victory, but promised to shrug it off in time for the upcoming Ryder Cup.

“It is disappointing. I feel like the last month of golf has been obviously very good, starting with the PGA [Championship],” McIlroy, the winner of four tour events this year, including the season’s final major and two FedEx Cup events in a row, told reporters after carding a final-round four-over 74. “It’s just in these playoffs, you’ve got to play well in nearly every event. I’ve played well in a couple of them....I finished in the top 10 here, but it wasn’t enough.”

Brandt Snedeker, Jim Furyk and Justin Rose currently share the lead with an 8-under score at the 2012 Tour Championship, held at Atlanta’s East Lake Golf Club. Snedeker jumped from No. 10 into No. 1 on the day, shooting an impressive 6-under through 18. Furyk and Rose are currently through 15 holes.

Tiger Woods has had a significant rise on the day as well. Woods has improved his score by three strokes on the day, shooting from 12th place into a tie for seventh with Robert Garrigus and Matt Kuchar. Tiger bogeyed only once on the day, shooting four birdies.

Jim Furyk maintains his lead in the 2012 TOUR Championship after starting his day with eight straight pars. Furyk holds a one-shot lead over a quartet of players at 6-under, including the hard-charging Ryan Moore, Bubba Watson, and Brandt Snedeker.

Moore is one of the streakier players on Tour, immensely talented and always capable of winning every time he tees it up. He carded five birdies through his first 10 holes and has yet to make a bogey.

The entire field is out on the course for the third round of the 2012 Tour Championship being held at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Ga. Jim Furyk started the round atop the leaderboard at 7-under, and he was partnered with Justin Rose, who sat a stroke behind at 6-under. Both Furyk and Rose made par on the first hole of their round.

Hunter Mahan has been the big mover of the day thus far, as his 3-under round has seen him jump 13 spots up the board. His 2-under par for the tournament has him a stroke ahead of Tiger Woods, who is at even par through the seventh hole of the round.

Round 3 of the 2012 PGA Tour Championship begins Saturday morning at 11:40 AM ET as Rory McIlroy chases his first FedEx Cup. McIlroy is currently in 7th, but leads his closest competitors in the chase for the Cup. Jim Furyk holds the lead entering the third round after an impressive 6-under 64 in the second. Furyk currently sits at 7-under.

Tiger Woods and Justin Rose shared the lead after Round 1 Thursday. Both players got off to a rough start Friday. Rose recovered and currently sits just one stroke back on Furyk. Woods’ struggles continued throughout the day, and he is currently tied for 12th at 1-under.

The second round of the Tour Championship is underway at East Lake Golf Club in Augusta, GA, and players in the morning groups are headed in the wrong direction so far on Friday.

Out of the 12 players currently on the course only two are under par today as Rickie Fowler and Australia’s John Senden are 1-under on their rounds today. Fowler is even for the week while Senden remains 1-over for the tournament.