DORAL, Fla. – A year that has delivered twists, turns and excitement seemingly each week, did not disappoint Sunday at the WGC-Cadillac Championship.
While most at Doral were wondering why Tiger Woods withdrew, Rory McIlroy found his way into contention on the back nine. He holed out from the bunker for eagle on the par-5 12th hole and instantly was within a shot of leader Justin Rose.
But the No. 1 player in the world ran out of gas down the stretch and made bogeys on Nos. 14 and 18 and shot 67, which gave him a third-place finish.
“I knew that every week’s an opportunity to win, every week’s an opportunity to play well and even though I didn’t play my best over the first couple of days, I fought back nicely at the weekend and posted a couple of good numbers,” McIlroy said.
This was McIlroy’s last competitive round before the Masters. He plans to work with his swing coach Michael Bannon next week in Palm Beach, Fla., then will take a couple trips to Augusta National to play practice rounds before the week of the Masters.