mcilroy new no.1 in golf No luck of the Irish needed here

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 05/03/2012 (5297 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Rory McIlroy was six holes away from winning the Honda Classic and going to No. 1 in the world, an outcome that looked inevitable as he stood on the 13th green Sunday at PGA National.

That’s when he heard the roar.

Even from the farthest corner of the course, McIlroy knew it was for Tiger Woods. And McIlroy could tell by the sheer volume that it was an eagle.

“I could hear the huge roar,” McIlroy said. “And it definitely wasn’t a birdie roar.”

For Woods, it was a moment that finally put some colour into that red shirt, a birdie-eagle finish for a 62, the lowest final round of his career to get within one shot of the lead and force the 22-year-old from Northern Ireland to play the final hour with little room for error.

But this is no ordinary kid.

McIlroy answered with clutch shots of his own, a performance that showed why he’s the new No. 1 in golf.

He poured in the eight-foot birdie putt on the 13th for a two-shot lead. He gouged out a wedge from grass so deep he could barely see the ball to save par on the 14th, and he twice saved par from the bunker on the scary par 3s for a 1-under 69 and a two-shot win.

“It was tough today, especially seeing Tiger make a charge,” McIlroy said. “I knew par golf would probably be good enough. To shoot 1 under in these conditions, when you go into the round with the lead, is very nice. And I was just able to get the job done.”

McIlroy became the 16th player to be No. 1 since the world ranking began in 1986, and the fourth player in the last 16 months since Woods abdicated the top spot after a five-year reign. McIlroy replaced Luke Donald and became the second-youngest player to be No. 1 behind Woods, who was 21 when he first got to the top after the 1997 U.S. Open.

“It was always a dream of mine to become the world No. 1 and the best player in the world or whatever you want to call it,” McIlroy said. “But I didn’t know that I would be able to get here this quickly. …Hopefully, I can hold onto it for a little longer.”

He celebrated by flying to New York to spend time with his girlfriend, tennis star Caroline Wozniacki, before returning to south Florida next week for a World Golf Championship.

Donald responded quickly to the victory, tweeting “Congrats (at)McIlroyRory enjoy the view!”

McIlroy wasn’t at this best on the front nine, though he did what the best players tend to do by turning a suspect round into a decent score.

Woods was still five shots behind until a finish that served as a reminder why this guy can’t be counted out — not at PGA National, certainly not with the Masters around the corner.

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“I figured I had to go birdie-birdie to have a chance,” Woods said.

He did one better.

Woods made two eagles in the final round and wound up two shots behind, his best finish on the PGA Tour since he was runner-up in the 2009 Tour Championship. Tom Gillis birdied the last hole for a 69 to join Woods as a runner-up.

— The Associated Press