Rory McIlroy has done something with his putting for the first time since 2022 as he wins The Players Championship

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Rory McIlroy had to dig deep into the locker to win The Players ahead of J.J. Spaun as he held his nerve to win a three hole playoff and secure a second win at TPC Sawgrass.

McIlroy produced the goods off the tee as Spaun faltered and after Spaun found water on 17 and McIlroy found the green, it was pretty much game over from there.

McIlroy admitted the tee shot on 17 had put him in the ideal position to win but while those shots in the playoff were important, there was more to McIlroy’s game all week as well.

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Indeed, despite not being at his best off the tee, McIlroy went deep into his skillset to play some excellent shots around the green and crucially, deliver with the putter as well.

In fact, McIlroy actually achieved something for the first time since 2022 when it came to the flat stick.

Rory McIlroy’s putts his way to victory at The Players

Golf is all about stats at times and when it comes to Rory McIlroy, making big putts is part and parcel of the game.

However, as we saw at the US Open in 2024, McIlroy can leave a few out there when they look easier to make and it’s something he’s clearly trying to tighten up on.

Indeed, according to Justin Ray, McIlroy actually performed in the top of strokes gained with the putter in consecutive weeks for the first time since 2022.

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Rory McIlroy’s 2025 putting stats

With a number of star names not at the races like Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele, it was always going to be big for McIlroy to make putts.

He did it with aplomb in fairness to him and as mentioned, he was top ten in the field for strokes gained.

As for 2025 as a whole, McIlroy is trending in the right direction and currently sits 15th on the PGA Tour for strokes gained in putting at 0.606 per round.

He’s 7th in putts per round and impressively, is second for percentage of one putts made.

For an interesting comparison, Scottie Scheffler is way down in 91st for putting strokes gained, while Jordan Spieth – known for being one of the best putters on TOUR – is even further back in 94th.

McIlroy, then, has a big chance it seems looking at the numbers and if he can maintain it, that fifth major will come in 2025.