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Tiger charges, but McIlroy was true No. 1 at Honda

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. -- The hunted has now become the hunter.

It used to be that Tiger Woods raced to the lead and forced everyone else to try to catch him. Now it's Rory McIlroy who has taken that role and with it the throne that Woods used to rule from, figuratively and literally.

"He's the best player I've ever seen tee-to-green, period," said Graeme McDowell of his fellow Northern Irishman. "I didn't have a chance to play with Tiger in the early to mid 2000s when Tiger was the man, but Rory McIlroy is the best."

It showed on Sunday.

Protecting a two-shot lead at the start of the day, McIlroy never lost his spot atop the leaderboard at The Honda Classic, where his victory moved him to fourth in the FedExCup standings and first in the Official World Golf Ranking.

Not when the wind started whipping through PGA National. And not when Woods put on the kind of charge that used to make his opponents suddenly turn to mush.

The difference of course was that Woods was the one doing the chasing this time. The greatest front-runner of all time had never shot a 62 in any final round of his career and never needed to.

Even when Woods did, though, it didn't matter. Not even a roar-inducing eagle on the final hole could shake Rors. McIlroy heard the noise from five holes away and made some of his own with a birdie putt from just over 8 feet.

"It was nice to have that two-shot cushion going into the last five holes after holing that birdie putt," said McIlroy, who carded a 1-under 69 in the final round.

A couple of years ago, it might have gone differently for McIlroy.

"He was not a standout closer two years ago, because he didn't have the putting ability," McDowell said.

You don't even have to go back that far.

At last year's Masters, McIlroy took a four-shot lead to Sunday before imploding with a final-round 80 that featured one devastating missed putt after another.

Now McIlroy seems to be getting better not incrementally but exponentially.

He has three wins worldwide in the last nine months and just once has finished outside the top 5 since the PGA Championship last August, and that was an 11-place finish in Dubai when he was sick.

Sunday, McIlroy's performance must have made Woods ill.

No matter what the one-time No. 1 player in the world did, it wasn't enough. For every birdie or eagle that Woods made, McIlroy sank one clutch par putt after another.

In all, McIlroy made five putts from outside 7 feet in the final round and for the week he tied for first in total distance of putts made. A year after playing the difficult Bear Trap -- Nos. 15, 16 and 17 -- in 6 over in the third round alone, McIlroy was a combined 3 under this year, which included three pars on Sunday.

"As soon as he learned how to putt, he was going to be a dominating force," McDowell said. "You're starting to see that now."

Said McIlroy: "That was big this week, saving par, which I managed to do today very well."

Which is exactly what Woods used to do, especially on Sundays. Woods was a closer, not a chaser. Now he knows how everyone else used to feel.

"You're not going to win every time you tee it up, but you can be consistent," Woods said of McIlroy. "You can be close and in the hunt and that's what he's done."

In truth, it's what Woods is starting to do, too, albeit slowly. But that's a story for another day because this one was all about McIlroy and his ascension to the top of the game.

"I always felt like when I played my best, I would be hard to beat," McIlroy said. "I feel like I've always been a pretty confident guy. But I think I've got a lot more belief in myself now when I'm going down the stretch. I definitely don't doubt myself as much as I used to."

Neither does anyone else.

Woods shoots 62 for clubhouse lead

Woods shoots 62 for clubhouse lead

 

Woods shoots 62 for clubhouse lead

Woods shoots 62 for clubhouse lead

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Tiger Woods played his last two holes Sunday in 3 under to post an 8-under 62 — the lowest final-round score of his career — and take the clubhouse lead at The Honda Classic.

Woods started the day nine shots behind leader Rory McIlroy and left the course just one back. McIlroy did pour in a birdie shortly after Woods finished to reach 12 under and regain his two-shot advantage.

Woods had two eagles and four birdies in his bogey-free finale.  He’ll now have to wait and see how Rory McIlroy fares in the Bear Trap before knowing if his week is through.

Interesting Drama shaping up at The Honda Classic

2:55 pm Live updates: News, notes, more

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — The final round of The Honda Classic is back under way after a nearly two-hour delay due to some rain and lightning in the area. Get the latest updates, news and more here all day and feel free to comment throughout the day.

FINAL-ROUND UPDATES (All times ET) | Live Scores

2:55 p.m.: Tiger Woods’ birdie barrage has slowed a bit. Woods had pretty good looks on Nos. 12 and 13, but missed from 18 and 14 feet, respectively. They were by no means gimmies of course, but both had a chance at going in the hole and nearly did. Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy made his first birdie of the day on No. 8 and just turned in 1 under. He leads by three over Tom Gillis and five over Woods.

2:30 p.m.: Seven holes down for Rory McIlroy, seven pars. He hasn’t been quite as sharp as he was in his previous three rounds here, but McIlroy has made a couple of big putts when he’s need to make them, including a 12-footer to save par on the par-3 seventh, where he missed the green right and into a bunker. The good news for McIlroy is that he still leads by one over Tom Gillis. However, Tiger Woods continues to climb. Woods is 5 under through 12 holes and only four back of McIlroy with just two players separating him from the top spot on the leaderboard.

2:05 p.m.: Rory McIlroy is six holes into his final round and still has the lead by one over Tom Gillis. But it’s Tiger Woods who is making the biggest noise right now. Woods is 5 under through his first 11 holes after his third birdie of the day (he also has an eagle) to get to 7 under for the week. Woods is still four shots off the lead, but he’s now tied for fourth with only two players separating him from McIlroy.

1:25 p.m.: Rory McIlroy has had a couple of looks at birdie through his first three holes but has failed to convert either of them. On the first hole, he missed a 10-footer and had to settle for par, and on the par-5 third just now he missed from just outside 15 feet. Tom Gillis did not miss, though, and thanks to his second birdie of the day he is now one back of McIlroy. Charl Schwartzel, meanwhile, is now in third by himself after playing his first four holes in 2 under.

1:05 p.m.: Thanks to an eagle and two birdies, Tiger Woods is now 6 under for the week and five shots off the lead. He’s still a long way from contending of course, but Woods is putting well with 11 putts through seven holes. Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy made a big par save from about 13 feet on the second hole after missing the green short on his approach. Tom Gillis, who was within a stroke of McIlroy after a birdie on the first hole, gave it right back with a bogey on No. 2 after missing a par save from just inside 12 feet.

12:46 p.m.: What was a two-stroke lead at the start of the day for Rory McIlroy is down to one after Tom Gillis birdied the opening hole, where he hit his approach to just over 7 feet and made the putt. McIlroy and Harris English, meanwhile, both parred the hole. McIlroy had a look at birdie from just inside 11 feet but slid it past the hole, while English got up-and-down from just short of the green.

12:30 p.m.: The final group of Rory McIlroy, Harris English and Tom Gillis has teed off here at PGA National, where Justin Rose and Charl Schwartzel have cut into their lead a little bit. Both birdied the first hole and are three and four shots back, respectively, of McIlroy, who leads English and Gillis by two.

12 p.m.: Despite the wet conditions, the ball is being played down here in the final round at PGA National, where some low starts are popping up. Tiger Woods, who played just one hole before was suspended earlier, is 2 under through his first three holes, while Lee Westwood and Erik Compton are both 3 under early in their rounds. Spencer Levin is also 2 under through 3 holes. They all still have a long way to go, however, with Rory McIlroy at 11 under. McIlroy will tee off in 20 minutes.

11:45 a.m.: Play resumed about 15 minutes ago with a couple of players taking advantage of what are some pretty soft conditions after rain rolled through the area earlier. Lee Westwood played his first three holes in 3 under, while Erik Compton was 2 under through his first three holes. Because of the delay, the leaders won’t tee off until 12:20 p.m. This is the third time Rory McIlroy has tak

en a lead to the final round, and he’s 1-for-2 in that situation having of course gone on to an easy victory in last year’s U.S. Open.

Shaping up to be a great Championship Sunday at the WGC- Accenture match Play

Suspense will build on a Sunday where few things are certain

 

MARANA, Ariz. -- The final match of this week's World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship won't begin until noon here in the Arizona desert. The combatants, of course, have yet to be determined. But we are assured of two things:

One of the finalists will be playing for a chance to become the top-ranked player in the world.

The other finalist will be attempting to end America's three-year drought in this event.

But should we really get ahead of ourselves? After all, you couldn't ask for more intrigue in the two semifinals that will be played Sunday morning at Dove Mountain.

The first semifinal involves two of the three highest-ranked players in the world in No. 2 Rory McIlroy and No. 3 Lee Westwood. The young lad from Northern Ireland with a major already in his pocket against the established English star who should've already had one by now. Former mates under the Chubby Chandler empire who have now drifted apart since McIlroy's departure.

McIlroy, the precocious 22-year-old, wanted the match against Westwood. Even predicted it before Saturday's quarterfinals. "See you tomorrow morning," he told Westwood when they ran into each other.

Westwood, however, won't treat it any different than his previous four matches. Sixteen years older than his opponent, Westwood isn't about to get caught in the periphery and the hype. He just wants to keep playing, keep winning. His intensity level will remain the same.

"I've been keyed up (all week) because I want to come out fast and get birdies quickly and get up," Westwood said. "I can't imagine I'll be more keyed up.

Thanks to Luke Donald's first-round knockout, the Westwood-McIlroy survivor could leave town Sunday night as the new No. 1 should either one win the championship. Westwood already has spent 22 weeks at No. 1, taking over for Tiger Woods late in 2010, and said a return to that spot is simply a by-product of playing well. McIlroy has never been No. 1 and calls it an added incentive this week.

"I always wanted to get to this position in the world," McIlroy said. "I always wanted to challenge for the biggest titles. And this is, outside the majors, one of the biggest ones."

Of the four players left, the only one who has won a World Golf Championships event is Hunter Mahan, winner of the 2010 Bridgestone Invitational. Will having already won one of these encounters with the world's best players help him Sunday?

"No, it doesn't mean anything," he said. "I wish it did."

Neither does Mahan think there's any significance that the U.S. is guaranteed a spot in the final. He'll be facing Mark Wilson in the other semifinal; it's the first time since 2008 that two Americans have met in the semifinals (Stewart Cink beat Justin Leonard that year). That's also the last year Americans have appeared in the finals (Tiger Woods beating Cink in the final).

"Doesn't mean anything for me," Mahan said. "Doesn't help me at all."

Frankly, Mahan and Wilson both seem more fired up that they use Ping clubs -- as does Westwood, for that matter -- and that Ping's headquarters are just up the highway in Phoenix. Must be local knowledge.

"It will be fun to play against a Ping guy in Arizona," Mahan said.

Of the four players, Wilson is the lowest seed (10th) left standing and knows that he probably wasn't in the final four of many brackets outside the family circle. His doesn't have the match play experience that the other three can call upon, but he does have the underdog role.

And with three wins on the PGA TOUR since the start of the 2011 season, he has the confidence that he belongs on this kind of stage -- even if others are still skeptical. He's looking at you, Nick Faldo.

"I used to get intimidated by the more named players," Wilson said, "but I feel more comfortable in my own shoes now."

He better be. If he gets past Mahan, Wilson will have McIlroy or Westwood to deal with in the finals. Although the fans will be on his side, the world rankings will favor the other side.

Of course, that's the set-up no matter who reaches the finals. Just don't look too far ahead.