Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy has emerged as the clear favorite on the PGA Tour this season. He has effectively fought stiff resistance from fellow competitors and is now on the way to cap off an already amazing season by winning the Tour Championship and the FedEx Cup, with its $10 million bonus.
The season that began with a diverse range of winners is poised to finish with world number one McIlroy reigning supreme.
McIlroy will enter next week's Tour Championship in Atlanta, the final event of the PGA season, eyeing a record fifth title of the year on the U.S. circuit.
And 14-times major champion and former World No.1 Tiger Woods is all praise for the 23-year-old pro. "Yeah, he's going out there and is up near the lead and posts a good number," Woods was quoted as saying by Reuters Thursday.
In many ways McIlroy is following the path that Woods once treaded. He claimed his second major title by a massive eight shots in PGA Championship last month before winning back-to-back events in the FedExCup playoffs - the Deutsche Bank Championship and then the BMW Championship last Sunday.
There appears to be no stopping McIlroy. "Hopefully, in a couple weeks' time, I'll be sitting right here again with two trophies beside me," McIlroy had said after his win at the BMW Championship in Carmel, Indiana, where he beat the world's best.
A five-under-par 67 gave the Boy Wonder a two-shot win over Phil Mickelson and Lee Westwood. That was just six days after he had held off a stiff challenge from Tiger Woods to emerge triumphant at the TPC Boston.
"Somehow I turned a 76 into a 69 today! Did some good work on the range this evening... Excited for tomorrow to try and win my 2nd in a row," McIlroy tweeted going into his final round in Indiana.
McIlroy duly delivered with Westwood, Mickelson and Woods falling by the wayside.
McIlroy's impressive play especially on the final day of the tournaments has transformed the PGA Tour season that boasted of some come-from-behind finishes and keen contests.
For the record, along with becoming the first player since Woods in 2009 to win PGA Tour events in consecutive weeks, McIlroy has cemented his place as the Numero Uno golfer, something that the sport has been missing since Woods went astray three years ago.