Rory McIlroy winning The Players Championship gave him so much of what he doesn't need. The $4.5 million prize is the largest for any tournament in the world. It pushed McIlroy's career earnings on the PGA Tour alone to just over $99.

Rory McIlroy had to come from behind to get himself into a playoff at The Players Championship. On Monday, he won the playoff with relative ease over J.J. Spaun to win golf's so-called fifth major. McIlroy played himself into the playoff,