Rory McIlroy had led the Honda Classic all three rounds, but saw that lead slip away on Sunday with a two-over par 74. He had been splitting the fairways all week with his driver, but began missing everything left in the final round.
McIlroy made three bogeys and two birdies on the front side for a one-over par 36. He added another bogey at No. 12, but still held a one-shot lead as he entered the ‘Bear Trap.’
A par at the par-3 No. 15 still left in the lead, but facing a difficult drive, standing on the 16th tee.
No. 16 proved to be the critical hole of the week for McIlroy. He pulled his drive into the left fairway bunker, caught his second shot heavy and found the water fronting the green. The errant drive resulted in a double-bogey six and left him in a tie for the lead.
Another bogey followed at the par-3 No. 17 and now McIlroy trailed Ryan Palmer, the clubhouse leader, by one shot heading into the final hole.
He hit a perfect drive at the par-5 and struck a beautiful high fade with a three-wood into the green from 245 yards that gave him a ten-foot eagle putt for the win. It was the shot of the week, but he failed to convert the putt and had to settle for a tap-in birdie that left him tied with Russell Henley, Ryan Palmer and Russell Knox at eight-under par.
Ryan Palmer was the only player in the field to post four rounds in the 60’s and had to wait while McIlroy, Henley and Knox finished behind him.
Palmer carded 68-66-69-69 to finish at eight-under par. He played the best from tee to green on Sunday, but failed to make a birdie at the last hole. Even though Palmer was spot-on with his irons on Sunday, the putter refused to cooperate.
Russell Knox grew up in Scotland and is in just his third year on tour. His runner-up at the Honda Classic is his best finish on tour and it was his fifth top-10 finish in 45 starts.
This is the second career victory for Russell Henley. He won his very first PGA Tour start at the 2013 Sony Open. Henley joins, McIlroy, Harris English and Patrick Reed as the only other players with two wins under the age of 25.
After posting two lackluster rounds of 71-69 to make the cut on the number at even-par, Tiger Woods posted a very solid 65 on Saturday to get to five-under par. He started out the final round with a bogey at No. 2, a double-bogey at No. 3 and another bogey at No. 4 to go four-over par for his first four holes.
He added two more bogeys on the front nine and posted a five-over par 40. Woods did manage to par Nos. 10-13 before withdrawing from the tournament citing back spasms.
He also suffered back spasms during the final round of The Barclays last year in the FedEx Cup playoffs, but managed to finish runner-up to Adam Scott.
No. 2 in the world, Adam Scott finished T-12 at four-under par for the week.
Phil Mickelson shot 70-71 for a two-day total of one-over par and failed to make the cut on Friday night.
The tour now moves south down I-95 to newly renovated Trump Doral for the WGC-Cadillac Championship.
Tiger Woods will defend if his achy back lets him.