Rory McIlroy finally takes the No. 1 spot in world rankings – Golf News
The Northern Ireland’s golfing sensation, Rory McIlroy, who was in contention for the top position in the Official World Golf Rankings for the past few tournaments, finally won the Honda Classic that earned him enough points to knock Luke Donald off the
top spot.
While entering the final round of the event, he had a two-stroke lead over his opponents at the PGA National Champion Course, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
Throughout his final round, he was seen playing safe and did not try to put any extra effort that could have negatively affected his score.
He carded only a single birdie on his front nine that came late on par-four eighth.
The par-four 12th saw him struggling for the first time in the round. He missed a par putt, which in turn cost him a birdie, levelling his score to par in the round.
He then recovered strongly with a birdie on the very next hole to go again one-under par, which remained till the end of the round.
According to McIlroy, his main focus was to score par shots throughout the day as it was enough for a win in the event.
However, an interesting change seen on the leaderboard was Tiger Woods surging to the second position from the 18th to nearly challenge McIlroy for the top position in the event.
Tiger Woods, who was seen struggling with his putts throughout the event, looked spectacular while making his putts on the final day that saw him carding four birdies and two eagles in the end.
His final score at the end of tournament was 10-under par 270, two strokes off McIlroy’s 12-under par.
"It was tough today, especially seeing Tiger make a charge," McIlroy said.
He added, "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 is now the 16th player to become the world’s number one player and the second youngest after Woods, who became number one at the age of 21 after his win in the 1997 US Open.
Luke Donald, who is now second in the OWGR, tweeted just after McIlroy’s victory, saying, "Congrats (at) McIlroy Rory enjoy the view!"
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