Golf, Rory Mcilroy | featured news

Although he didn't take over the No. 1 world ranking with his victory Sunday at the WGC-Cadillac Championship, Tiger Woods more than cut in half his deficit between himself and Rory McIlroy.

Rory McIlroy says the pressure of meeting expectations as golf's No. 1 player got the best of him when he quit and walked off the course last week. He says he has learned his lesson and "it won't happen again."...

On Friday morning, by the time he reached the ninth hole of his second round, Rory McIlroy was, he said, “seeing red.” His bottom right impacted wisdom tooth, which is being treated by his childhood dentist in Belfast, was causing him pain. His “out of sorts” swing was causing him more pain. His scorecard through eight holes -- par, double bogey, par, bogey, par, par, triple bogey, bogey -- was causing him the most pain. When his second shot on the 18th hole at PGA National, home course for the Honda Classic, settled in a pond, McIlroy’s mind was overwhelmed with a single thought: “I don’t want to be here.”

Rory McIlroy, the world’s No. 1 golfer, abruptly withdrew from the Honda Classic midway through his round this morning. McIlroy was having a dismal day, shooting seven over par through the first eight holes at PGA National Resort and Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., but initially offered only a mysterious explanation for his withdrawal as he left the course.

As the playoffs for the FedEx Cup get under way Thursday at The Barclays, the buzz is bigger than usual. Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy playing in the same group for starters, and at Bethpage Black, a notoriously tough track on Long Island made even more famous by the two U.S. Opens it has hosted in the last decade.

Rory McIlroy won the P.G.A. Championship by a record eight strokes at Kiawah Island for his second major title.

Rory McIlroy moved in for the kill and Tiger Woods was left kicking his club in frustration during a Masters second round that ended with Americans Jason Dufner and Fred Couples sharing the lead.

Tiger Woods talked all week about his improved ball control—then it let him down when he needed it most. Woods resembled the Tiger of old over the first three rounds at the Abu Dhabi Championship, stringing together a trio of rounds below par before shooting an even-par 72 in Sunday’s finale to finish in a tie for third place behind winner Robert Rock and U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy.

Only a half-hour remained before his tee time when Rory McIlroy finally arrived Friday morning at Atlanta Athletic Club’s practice range. His right wrist, injured on a root during Thursday’s first round of the PGA Championship, was again heavily wrapped. He warmed up with a few easy wedges, then some full swings with irons, and finally the driver.

Rory McIlroy has not been a pro long enough to have personally experienced Tiger Woods at his absolute best except in very limited doses. So he doesn’t understand any clamoring by players about Woods’ return this week at the WGC Bridgestone Invitational.