He finished three strokes clear of Russell Knox and Bradley Dredge and subsequently gave the €666,000 winner's cheque to charity. On 5 September, he won the Deutsche Bank Championship in Norton, Massachusetts (near Boston). He finished two shots clear of Paul Casey. He produced a near flawless final round of 65 to win for the first time on the PGA Tour in 2016 at the Deutsche Bank Championship. At the final event of the PGA Tour season, the 2016 Tour Championship, McIlroy overcame a two-shot deficit after the third round to force a playoff with Ryan Moore and Kevin Chappell, winning the competition at the fourth playoff hole with a birdie 3 on the par4 16th. The result put McIlroy at the top of the FedEx Cup and won him the $10 million bonus pool. At the 2016 Ryder Cup, McIlroy played five matches winning three points, all when paired with Thomas Pieters: the European duo overcome Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar, 3 and 2, in the Friday fourballs, Rickie Fowler and Phil Mickelson, 4 and 2, in the Saturday foursomes, and Brooks Koepka and Johnson, 3 and 1, in the Saturday fourballs. McIlroy paired with Andy Sullivan in the Friday foursomes, losing to Mickelson and Fowler, 1 up. In the Sunday singles, he lost to Patrick Reed,1 up, thanks to a birdie by the American at the last hole. At the end of 2016, Nike announced their withdrawal from the golf equipment market, releasing staff players from their contracts early. After spending several months trying different clubs and balls, McIlroy signed a $100 millon endorsement deal with TaylorMade. McIlroy did not win during 2017, but still had a solid year recording top 10 finishes at the Masters, The Open and 3 WGC events. He was hampered throughout the season by a rib injury first sustained at the BMW SA Open in January, where he lost out on the title in an playoff to Graeme Storm, and played a limited schedule as a result. After missing out on qualifying for the end of season Tour Championship on the PGA Tour, he decided to sit out the remainder of the year to rest and recover fully. McIlroy returned after more than 100 days away at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship in late January. Prior to the tournament, McIlroy revealed he has a slight heart irregularity but played down the impact on his golf. McIlroy finished runner-up to Li Haotong in the Omega Dubai Desert Classic.