SAN FRANCISCO -- Rory McIlroy didn't need another comeback to win the Match Play Championship.
Three times in the last three days, McIlroy had to rally from a late deficit to reach the championship match Sunday at TPC Harding Park. He removed any suspense by winning four straight holes against an errant Gary Woodland and never looked back.
Woodland conceded the 16th hole, and McIlroy, who turns 26 today, 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.
"I'm really proud of myself with how I showed a lot of character early on with coming back from deficits," McIlroy said. "I played really solid golf. My second WGC and first win in the States this year. I couldn't be happier."
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, and it was never easy.
McIlroy was 4 up after matching birdies with Woodland on the 10th hole when he began making mistakes -- a poor bunker shot on No. 11, a wild tee shot on No. 12, an different chip from the left side of the 13th green.
Woodland had a 4-foot par putt on the 13th to cut the lead to 1 up with plenty of golf course left. He never looked comfortable and ran it over the right edge, and momentum shifted squarely back to McIlroy.
He won the 14th with a par when Woodland left a long birdie attempted woefully short. And he closed out the match when Woodland blasted out of a bunker and over the 16th green, missing the next shot and removing his cap.
"My putt drops on 13 and it's a different ball game," Woodland said. "But I missed that one. And he was like a shark. Smelled blood, and it was gave over quickly."
McIlroy was 2 down with two holes to play and risked being eliminated 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.
The first birdie was to halve the hole on the 16th and avoid going 2 down with 2 to play. He hit 7-iron to 4 feet for birdie on the 17th to square the match. And with Furyk facing a 20-foot birdie putt, McIlroy ended the match by rolling in a 45-foot eagle putt across the green for a 1-up victory.
Woodland faced an early deficit to Danny Willett of England in the semifinals until he turned it around for a 3-and-2 victory. Going into the championship match, Woodland had trailed on only 11 of the 101 holes he had played all week.
Against McIlroy, he never led.
In the consolation match, Willett defeated Furyk on the 16th hole and picked up $646,000, which will go a long way toward PGA Tour membership if he wants it.
The Match Play Championship featured a new format this year to keep more top players in the field for at least three days. McIlroy was 3-0 in the round-robin format, and wound up winning all seven matches to pick up the $1.57 million prize.
Woodland earned $930,000 for finishing second.
LPGA
Park closes strong
IRVING, Texas -- Inbee Park won the LPGA Tour's North Texas Shootout for the second time in three years Sunday, 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 26-year-old South Korean player, the HSBC Women's Champions winner in March in Singapore, earned $195,000 to push her career total to nearly $10.8 million.
Cristie Kerr and Hee Young Park tied for second. The 37-year-old Kerr had three consecutive birdies to finish her round of 66. Hee Young Park had a 66, birdieing the final two holes after her only bogey at No. 16.
Lexi Thompson, who shared the third-round lead with Park, closed with a 69 to tie for fourth with Maria McBride (65) at 11 under.
Stacy Lewis (Arkansas Razorbacks) had a 4-under 71 and finished six strokes behind Park to win $33,310.
CHAMPIONS
Woosnam's birdie enough
THE WOODLANDS, Texas -- Ian Woosnam made a 30-foot birdie putt in a playoff to win the Insperity Invitational 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. Perry finished with a 66, and Lehman shot 69.
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.
WEB.COM
Rookie wins big
NEWBURGH, Ind. -- Rookie Smylie Kaufman won the United Leasing Championship by five strokes Sunday for his first Web.com Tour title.
Kaufman, the 23-year-old former LSU player from Birmingham, Alabama, had two double bogeys on the back nine in a closing 1-over 73 to finish at 10-under 278 at Victoria National. He matched the course record with a 64 on Saturday to take a four-stroke lead into the final round.
Kaufman earned $108,000 to jump from 28th to fourth on the money list with $159,535. He was coming off consecutive fourth-place ties in the Louisiana Open and Mexico Championship after missing the cuts in his first three starts of the year.
Jonathan Randolph (69), Adam Long (73) and Ryan Spears (74) tied for second.
Tag Ridings (Arkansas Razorbacks) finished eight strokes back at 286 and pocketed $15,000. Glen Day had a 71 on Sunday and finished well back at 295. He won $1,604.
Sports on 05/04/2015