Rory McIlroy claims adding the FedEx Cup to the list of honours on his CV is far more exciting than a potential £7.5million bonus

Rory McIlroy could be £7.5million richer by the end of the weekend
However, McIlroy claims the money would not mean much to him
McIlroy is one of 29 players with the chance to scoop a £6.5m bonus
But, the golfer is only interested in adding the FedEx Cup to his CV

Published:
22:36 GMT, 23 September 2015

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Updated:
13:39 GMT, 24 September 2015

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Rory McIlroy has a decent chance of being £7.5million richer come Sunday night but he provoked open-mouthed astonishment on Wednesday when he said it wouldn’t mean much to him.

Before the CEO of FedEx, the company responsible for most of that largesse, feels the need to lie down in a darkened room, we should allow the Northern Irishman to explain.

‘Obviously it would be nice to bank that amount but it’s not what excites me about this week,’ he said. ‘The FedEx Cup is not something I have on my c.v and that would be more exciting to me than walking away with the cheque.’

Golf ace Rory McIlroy has a decent chance of being £7.5million richer come Sunday night

McIlroy claims winning the FedEx Cup and adding it to his curriculum vitae is worth more than any money

As if to emphasise how far he’s come, McIlroy told a lovely story from his early days as a professional, and a watch he coveted.

‘I’d been looking at it for quite a while, it was back in 2007, and I did well in the Dunhill Links,’ he said.

‘I was still at the stage where the prize money was going straight into my debit account in Ireland. Well, the following week I went to an ATM to draw some money out and checked my bank balance. It said £220,000! I went straight to the store and bought the watch.’

Now, of course, he gets paid to wear one, with the pick of the entire Omega range.

When did the money stop mattering? ‘I suppose the easy answer would be to say January 2013,’ said the 26-year-old, with his usual disarming honesty, referring to the day he signed on for Nike, and a reputed five-year contract worth £65m.

‘But it was probably before that. Look, we’re playing for first prizes of over a million dollars every week, so we are just in such a fortunate position.

McIlroy plays a shot during a practice round for the Tour Championship By Coca-Cola at East Lake

I think all of us on tour realise that. You feel very privileged to think you can set up not only your own kids for a nice life, but their kids as well.’

THE RACE FOR £7.5MILLION

If Rory McIlroy or Justin Rose wins the Tour Championship, they will bag the £1m first prize, plus the £6.5m Tour jackpot if Jason Day finishes worse than sixth, Jordan Spieth worse than fourth and Rickie Fowler, Henrik Stenson and Bubba Watson are outside the top three.

Paul Casey must win and hope Day finishes worse than 13th, Spieth worse than fifth, and Fowler, Stenson and Watson outside the top three.

McIlroy is one of 29 players here at the Tour Championship who will have the chance to win not only the £1m first prize but the £6.5m FedEx Cup play-offs bonus as well.

Australian Jason Day is in pole position following his brilliant summer with four wins in his last six starts, but anyone presently stationed in the top five — the others are Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, Henrik Stenson and Bubba Watson —will win the bonus if they win this final event.

McIlroy stands 11th and is one of those needing help from the top five even if he were to win the tournament.

But he’s exactly where Jim Furyk was when he walked away with it all in 2010. Justin Rose, presently 12th, is in a similar position.

As for Paul Casey, the other UK player to make it through, he is an outsider but American Bill Haas defied longer odds when he won in 2011, so it can be done.