Rory McIlroy at BMW Championship 2015: Sunday Leaderboard Score and Reaction

Rory McIlroy is still winless since May. As he showed all weekend, though, the world No. 1 (for now) is inching closer to putting his game back together.

McIlroy shot a one-under 70 in Sunday's fourth round, helping him finish the 2015 BMW Championship in a tie for fourth place at 14 under. The Northern Irishman finished eight strokes behind winner Jason Day, carding three birdies against two bogeys, adding an eagle and a double bogey. 

After carding three straight rounds in the 60s, it was clear early on that McIlroy wasn't firing on all cylinders. He saved par on six of the first seven holes, dropping a stroke on No. 3 and missing a number of other opportunities to right the ship. The par-five eighth finally allowed McIlroy a chance at birdie, and he made the turn at even-par 35 to pave the way for a wild back nine.    

McIlroy opened the back nine with an ugly double bogey on No. 10, hitting his second shot into the water and two-putting his way to a six. Back-to-back pars on Nos. 11 and 12 allowed him to settle down a bit before embarking on a two-hole stretch that saved his round.

McIlroy drilled a difficult 22-footer from off the green on No. 13 for his second birdie of the day and then hit three brilliant shots on the par-five 14th for an eagle.

The PGA Tour captured a video of his eagle putt:

Two steps forward immediately came with one back, however, as McIlroy bogeyed No. 15 to drop to even par for the day. Given it was his second water splash of the day, McIlroy was largely glad to just avoid a second double.

The fortuitous par-five 18th allowed him to drop back under par for the day and move into a tie for fourth with Rickie Fowler and J.B. Holmes. It's his first top-five finish since taking Wells Fargo Championship in May. 

Despite technically being the world's highest-ranked golfer, McIlroy has played a background role in the golf world this season. Jordan Spieth, who tied for 13th, dominated the early part of the calendar by taking the year's first two majors and remains in FedEx Cup contention. Day has morphed into a juggernaut over the last couple of months, winning four of his last five and five of his last seven tournaments, including the PGA Championship. 

“I feel like I’m sort of not being talked about as much,” McIlroy said, per Steve DiMeglio of USA Today. “It is sort of nice to just come in and do my own thing. Crowds aren’t as big out there. Yeah, I don’t mind it. Obviously it’s not the position I want to be in, but it’s a nice little change.”

Jamie Squire/Getty Images

McIlroy will have one last chance to put his name atop the PGA conversation at next week's Tour Championship. A win would not give him the FedEx Cup championship but would return him to his No. 1 ranking, which will go to Day for now. The world No. 1 has now been passed around five times since the major season ended, with Spieth and McIlroy trading off before Day ascended with his win Sunday.

"I feel like I haven't really played much this year to be honest,'' McIlroy said, per Bob Harig of ESPN.com. "Even though I only missed three or four events because of injury, it was a big chunk of the season. I said to J.P. [Fitzgerald, his caddie] out there, I was myself in the top 10. I was like, I haven't been in the top 10 since June. It's quite a bit of time."

Of the trio, McIlroy's clearly had the worst season. It'll be interesting to see if he can get his game together in time for the Tour Championship and head into 2016 on a high note.