McIlroy Wins WGC-Bridgestone Invitational; Rises to No. 1


Starting the final round three strokes behind leader Sergio Garcia, Rory McIlroy wasted little time putting pressure on the 34-year-old Spaniard in the $9 million WGC-Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone Country Club.

The 25-year-old Northern Irishman carded four birdies in the first five holes to supplant Garcia atop the leaderboard. After a bogey on the par-4 eight, McIlroy made the turn in 4-under 32.

On the home half, McIlroy carded a lone birdie and eight pars to polish off a 4-under 66, a 15-under 265 total on the par-70 South Course, and a two-stroke victory over Garcia.

Garcia couldn't match his work on the greens in the first three rounds, finishing with just one birdie and two bogeys for a 71.

The victory, worth $1.53 million and 550 FedEx Cup points, came back to back for McIlroy, who heads into this week's PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville as the favorite.

His two wins also moved McIlroy ahead of Adam Scott as the No. 1-ranked player in the world; the new official rankings will come out on Monday. The Ulsterman, a three-time major champion, said earlier in the week he was excited about his recent fine play and winning the title at Firestone.

"I've never won a World Golf Championship," McIlroy told reporters. "That's another thing. I've got three majors but never won one of these. That's another thing I'd like to knock off the list."

He also noted that moving into the top spot in the world golf rankings is personally important. "World No. 1 is a big goal of mine," he said earlier. "There's a lot of stuff still to play for."

The final round was suspended because of wet conditions on the course due to a steady rain in the morning. Play was officially halted at 11:00 a.m., but the precipitation stopped and the players soon returned. The final twosome of McIlroy and Garcia teed off just after 2:00 p.m. (CT).

Australia's Marc Leishman closed with a 67 to end up in solo third at 12-under 268, while another three strokes back were South African Charl Schwartzel (64), England's Justin Rose (69), and Americans Patrick Reed (65) and Keegan Bradley (69).

Sharing eighth at 7-under were Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell (66), Australia's Scott (71), and Americans Rickie Fowler and Ryan Moore, who each shot 67s.

The low round of the day was carded by Phil Mickelson, who posted 10 birdies and a pair of bogeys for a 62, moving the 44-year-old up the leaderboard into a tie for 15th at 5-under 275.

Mickelson, who opened with rounds of 71, 73 and 69, wasn't sure what happened Sunday. "I don't know what to say," said Lefty, who holed out from 91 yards for birdie on the 13th hole. "It just kind of came out of nowhere.

"What I've been struggling with was my short-irons, getting them close and making birdies. Today it was right-on."

Besides McIlroy's win, Sunday's big story was the withdrawal of Tiger Woods. After saying he "jarred" his back on the second hole, Woods pulled out six holes later. Woods said he got hurt after jumping backwards into a bunker after executing a shot from an awkward stance next to the trap.

He withdrew after completing eight holes, citing lower back pain. Woods underwent microdiscectomy surgery on March 31 and was playing in just his 10th competitive round since rehabbing his back. It's uncertain whether he'll be in good enough shape to play the PGA Championship, a Grand Slam event he's won four times.

"I just jarred it, and it's been spasming ever since," said Woods, who withdrew following his drive - which elicited a pained expression - on the ninth hole. "It's just the whole lower back."

Playing partner Bubba Watson later said to reporters, "I told him when I shook his hand, I said, 'I'm praying for you. Hope everything turns out good. Hope to see you next week.' "

Mickelson was next to the ninth fairway when Woods withdrew. "It didn't look good. It looked like he was really in pain," said Mickelson, who was slated to be paired with Woods in the first two rounds at Valhalla. "I hope it's a muscle and nothing serious because I'm really looking forward to playing with him. We rarely get paired together."

Woods, an eight-time winner at Firestone, was the defending Bridgestone champion. The injury withdrawal was the second time this year he's pulled out of a tournament in mid-round. Woods also withdrew from the Honda Classic in March with five holes to play in the last round after experiencing back spasms.

For all the scores, visit http://www.worldgolfchampionships.com/content/worldgolfchampionships/bridgestone-invitational/leaderboard.html.