McIlroy asserts himself with Match Play title
Rory McIlroy didn’t need another comeback to win the Match Play Championship.
Three times in the last three days, McIlroy had to rally to reach the championship match Sunday at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco. He removed any suspense by winning four straight holes against Gary Woodland.
Woodland conceded the 16th hole, and McIlroy captured his second World Golf Championship with a 4-and-2 victory. Three weeks after Jordan Spieth won the Masters and emerged as the most likely rival, McIlroy reminded the world of his No. 1 ranking.
It was the first time since Tiger Woods in 2008 that the No. 1 seed won golf’s most unpredictable tournament. Woods did it two other times.
McIlroy was 2 down with two holes to play on Friday when he rallied against Billy Horschel to win in 20 holes. In a quarterfinal match that spilled into Sunday morning, he was 1 down to Paul Casey on the 17th hole and wound up beating him in 22 holes.
His strongest play was in the semifinals against Jim Furyk, who put enormous pressure on McIlroy over the closing holes by hitting four straight approach shots close. McIlroy delivered a birdie-birdie-eagle finish to win. Woodland faced an early deficit to Danny Willett of England in the semifinals until he turned it around for a 3-and-2 victory.
LPGA
Inbee Park won the LPGA Tour’s North Texas Shootout in Irving, Texas, for the second time in three years, closing with a bogey-free 6-under 65 for a three-stroke victory.
Park finished at 15-under 269 at Las Colinas for her second victory this year and 14th on the tour. The South Korean player, ranked second in the world, won in March in Singapore.
Champions Tour
Ian Woosnam made a 30-foot birdie putt in a playoff to win the Insperity Invitational in The Woodlands, Texas, for his first Champions Tour title.
Woosnam, the 57-year-old Welshman playing on a sponsor exemption, beat Kenny Perry and Tom Lehman on the first extra hole at The Woodlands Country Club. The 1991 Masters champion was making his 36th start on the 50-and-over tour.
Woosnam closed with a 4-under 68 to match Perry and Lehman at 11-under 205.
In the playoff, Lehman sliced his approach on the par-4 18th into the water, and Perry left a long birdie try 8 feet short before Woosnam rolled in the winner.