DORAL, Fla. – Rory McIlroy says he is not thinking about the history that waits at the Masters, even though that’s all he seems to be talking about.

It’s not all his fault, of course.

Coming off his first missed cut in eight months at the Honda Classic, McIlroy leads the strongest field of the year at the Cadillac Championship. It’s the first time since the 2012 PGA Championship, which he won at Kiawah Island, that everyone in the top 50 of the world ranking are in the same tournament.

He wants to win at Doral. He wants to win at Bay Hill in two weeks at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

But he can’t avoid the questions about the Masters, where the world’s No. 1 has a chance to become only the sixth player to complete the Grand Slam. Boy Wonder is only 25, and so this won’t be his last chance to pick up the last leg. But having won the British Open and the PGA Championship last summer, it could take him one big step closer to joining Tiger Woods as the only player to hold all four major titles at once.

That’s a lot on the plate. That leads to a lot of questions.

And that’s OK with McIlroy.

“I think I’d rather have the questions, because it’s obviously a great position to be in going into Augusta and having it be the only major that I haven’t won,” he said Wednesday. “It’s not a bad position to be in. There’s always excitement and anticipation and hype that surrounds Augusta every year, and I feel it regardless if I’m going in as the favorite or under the radar or whatever.”

It’s the first major of the year. It the golf course fans know better than any other. It draws the most interest.

“There’s always hype,” McIlroy said. “There’s always buildup. My name is getting thrown around a little bit more than it used to, but I’m OK with that.”

It beats the alternative.

McIlroy began his year as a runner-up in Abu Dhabi and a winner in Dubai. He had won or finished second in eight of his previous 12 tournaments. And then he missed the cut at the Honda Classic – a tournament he won in 2012 to reach No. 1 for the first time – with rounds of 73-74.

It wasn’t a great way to start the road to the Masters. It was no time to panic, either. McIlroy worked at his home in West Palm Beach when the rain allowed, tightened up his swing, and then showed the Honda Classic might have been a mere speed bump when he shot 63 in the Pro-Member at Seminole.

He teed off Wednesday before the sun was up and worked his way around the Blue Monster in relative peace, an odd scene for the best player in golf. Only two photographers, the occasional TV camera and three fans with memorabilia in bags for him to sign (he didn’t) followed him around most of the day.

If there was ever a time to miss a cut, the Honda Classic would be a good one. It rained so hard that the tournament didn’t end until Monday. McIlroy’s biggest problem was controlling his ball in the wind, and luckily for him, it still was blowing when the rain stopped for his practice sessions.

“I just practiced and played a little bit, and at least I know going into this week where my game is,” McIlroy said. “So even if things maybe don’t go my way at some point during the round, I’ll know how to manage it a little bit better. Excited to get back at it and obviously try to put in a better performance than last week.”

The defending champion is Patrick Reed, who declared last year that he felt like he was among the top five in the world. He’s at No. 15, but at least making progress. Reed was tied for the lead at the Honda Classic with four holes to play when he went double bogey-bogey-bogey and shot 73. It was his first time over par in 20 rounds on the PGA Tour this year.

The top 50 doesn’t include Woods, who is not eligible for a WGC event for only the second time in his career. Woods has fallen to No. 75 after missing most of last year with back problems and playing only 47 holes in two events this year before saying he would take time off to sort out his game.

Henrik Stenson and Adam Scott are making their first starts on the PGA Tour, and Scott plans to use a conventional putter for the first in more than four years. Stenson will be playing with McIlroy and Masters champion Bubba Watson, a 1-2-3 pairing from the world ranking.

TORONTO – RBC continued to deepen its commitment to the game of golf with the signing of a multi-year deal with one of the game’s most talented golfers, Australian sensation Jason Day.

Joining an impressive roster that includes 2014 RBC Heritage champion Matt Kuchar, No. 7 world-ranked Jim Furyk and recent AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro Am champion Brandt Snedeker among other top golfers, Day will add an increased global dimension to RBC’s stable of brand ambassadors.

“Jason is one of the most exciting professionals playing right now on the PGA TOUR,” said Jane Broderick, chief brand and communications officer, RBC. “The calibre of talent he displays on the golf course combined with his commitment to help families in need off the course make him a dynamic ambassador, and one who is helping to shape the future of the game. We are thrilled to have Jason join Team RBC and we look forward to working together.”

“I’m proud to partner with organizations that place an emphasis on and share my interest in giving back to the community,” stated Jason Day. “RBC has a rich history of doing this through their sponsorship of golf and the extensive ambassadorial program they have in place. It’s an honour to join this fantastic team of touring professionals wearing the RBC brand week to week.”

Thrilled to announce that I have just joined iconic Team RBC. What a staff of first class players representing a first class brand! #RBCGolf

— Jason Day (@JDayGolf) March 5, 2015

The 27-year-old Day is a three-time PGA TOUR winner including the 2015 Farmers Insurance Open and the 2014 WGC- Accenture Match Play Championship. He’s had seven top ten finishes at major championships, including runner-up at the 2011 Masters Tournament and the 2011 and 2013 U.S. Open. When not playing on tour, Day and his wife Ellie run The Brighter Days Foundation, dedicated to providing funding and resources to deserving projects and organizations, with a focus on helping families in need.

The sponsorship kicks off at the WGC Cadillac Championship in Miami, Florida, where Day will begin to wear the iconic RBC shield on his golf apparel and golf bag, just like the other 13 members of Team RBC. As well he will participate in future marketing initiatives and client events for RBC, and act as a global brand ambassador, particularly in support of charitable initiatives that demonstrate RBC’s commitment to kids and youth such as the #RBCGolf4Kids online charity challenge.

Other recent additions to Team RBC include Canadian golfers Adam Hadwin, Brooke Henderson and Nick Taylor in a nod to the bank’s Canadian roots. RBC acts as the Official Banking and Financial Services partner to all members of Team RBC.

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Padraig Harrington captured his first PGA Tour title in more than six years on Monday when he birdied the final hole in regulation and then beat 21-year-old rookie Daniel Berger on the second hole of a playoff.

Leaving to Harrington to win the wildest finish of the season on the PGA Tour. It took two days to complete and included one stunning collapse after another, including one by Harrington.

The three-time major champion had a one-shot lead until hitting into the water on the 17th hole for double bogey. On the same hole in the playoff, Harrington hit his tee shot to 3 feet. Berger, who closed with a 6-under 64, followed with a shot into the water.

Ian Poulter hit five balls in the water and shot 75.

Canada’s Adam Hadwin carded a final-round 72 and finished with a share of 31st at 3-over.

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Ian Poulter didn’t realize he had a three-shot lead in the Honda Classic, only that he was playing well enough to feel like he was in control of his game and the tournament.

One shank changed everything Sunday.

“That just came out of left field,” Poulter said.

His next tee shot that splashed down in the water left of the fairway made it even worse.

“It was a bit of a body blow,” he said.

What had been a marathon day at soggy PGA National suddenly turned into a sprint-to-the-finish on Monday morning when the final round was to resume. Poulter lost command of the Honda Classic, but he didn’t lose his place atop the leaderboard.

He was at 7-under par through seven holes, tied with Paul Casey, who went out in 31 and was in the left rough on the 10th hole when the final round was halted at sunset.

Patrick Reed, in the final group with Poulter, was one shot behind.

Phil Mickelson was among four players who were three shots behind at 4-under par. That group included Daniel Berger, the PGA Tour rookie from West Palm Beach whose final shot Sunday was a 35-foot chip-in for birdie on the 11th hole.

“I’m pretty pleased with the golf I’ve played throughout the whole of today,” Poulter said. “I haven’t really made many mistakes at all. I’ve put it in position an awful lot, which is encouraging right now. And If I do that tomorrow, then I’m going to be in a good position.”

His two mistakes were big ones.

Leading by three shots, he tried to take a little off an 8-iron on the par-3 fifth hole, where the green is guarded by water on the left. Poulter hit a shank that went so far to the right it bounced into water on the sixth hole. He made double bogey and lost the lead.

On his next tee shot, he pulled his drive into the water down the left side of the sixth fairway and had to two-putt from 65 feet to escape with bogey.

“You take your foot off the accelerator for one second, all of a sudden you find yourself completely out of position,” Poulter said.

For a day of plodding across the rain-softened fairways, the Honda Classic suddenly was full of energy, not to mention possibilities. There was a three-shot swing at No. 5 when Reed holed a 35-foot birdie putt from a swale right of the fifth green and Poulter made his double bogey. Reed took the lead on No. 6 when Poulter made bogey.

And then Poulter was on the right end of a two-shot swing at their final hole of the long day, the par-3 seventh. His eyes a little wider, his blood boiling, Poulter drilled a 6-iron into 3 feet for birdie, while Reed missed the green to the left and failed to get up-and-down.

No longer forgotten was Casey, who made four birdies on the front nine, all from no more than 12 feet. His birdie on No. 9 moved him into a share of the lead.

The Monday finish was caused by nearly 5 inches of rain and 50 mph gusts that washed out the third round on Saturday and took a 78-member grounds crew until 10 a.m. Sunday just to get the course ready. It had so much water that the crew had to chase off an alligator from the bunkers. Players finished the third round and went right back out to squeeze in as many holes as possible. The final round was to resume at 8 a.m.

“This sort of situation is going to be difficult for everybody, and it just breaks up momentum,” said Casey, who had more than anyone. “Some guys will carry it through tomorrow. Others won’t, and that’s very difficult to predict. …You just hope you wake up tomorrow and you feel like you’ve got the same kind of golf swing and putts are going in the hole. You just don’t know. Hope the golfing gods are nice to us tomorrow.”

That’s what Mickelson was thinking.

He opened with two quick birdies and was getting closer to the lead until pushing a 4-foot par putt on the sixth hole. Mickelson had 10-foot par putt on the ninth hole when he returned Monday morning.

“I’m looking forward to just having a minute to regroup and take a look at what’s going on,” Mickelson said.

Jeff Overton, Brendan Steele and Russell Knox, who lost in a four-man playoff last year at PGA National, also were at 4 under.

Poulter was right about one thing. He did play some good golf, except for those two holes. He was bogey-free for a 66 in the third round, taking him from a two-shot deficit to a three-shot lead over Reed and Padraig Harrington going into the final round. It was his first 54-hole lead on the PGA Tour.

Harrington twice missed short putts – making bogey on No. 4 and double bogey on No. 6 – and was at 3 under.

Poulter at least was pleased with how he left the course with that 6-iron for birdie. He will try to end more than two years without a victory.

“Silly things happen,” he said. “Tiring, and made a couple of really bad swings on 5 and 6. But that kind of angered me inside enough to spark a little bit of energy there to hit a good shot on 7.”

Canadian Update:

Canada’s Adam Hadwin is tied for 27that 2-over par with six holes remaining.

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Padraig Harrington is a 36-hole leader on the PGA Tour for the first time in nearly five years and he knows he has a long way to go.

A vicious storm Saturday at the Honda Classic made his weekend even longer.

Harrington made six birdies in the 12 holes he played Saturday morning in the rain-delayed tournament to complete a 4-under 66 and take a one-shot lead over Patrick Reed, with Ian Poulter and Brendan Steele another shot behind.

The third round ended 51 minutes after it started because of a storm that packed 50 mph gusts and dumped about 5 inches of rain on PGA National. The storm was so severe that it created an air bubble on the 18th green the size of a sea turtle, caused the sides of bunkers to cave in and toppled an electronic scoreboard off a platform and down to the bottom of a lake.

“That’s as bad as I’ve ever seen it rain,” Russell Knox of Scotland said after a 68 left him four shots behind.

Only 24 players completed a hole before the storm arrived, causing the third delay of the week. The plan was to return at 10 a.m. Sunday to resume the round, and continue with the same pairings to play as much as possible on Sunday. The tournament now is to end on Monday.

“We’ve got pretty much a mess,” said Slugger White, the tour’s vice president of competition.

It helps that the next event is a World Golf Championship about a 90-minute drive down the highway at Doral, and there is no pro-am.

Harrington, the three-time major champion from Ireland, has fallen to No. 297 in the world and couldn’t qualify for Doral even if he were to win. He won the Indonesian Open on the Asian Tour at the end of last year, ending a four-year drought dating to another Asian Tour event.

His last PGA Tour victory was his second straight major, the 2008 PGA Championship at Oakland Hills. He said the benefit of playing Indonesia was a boost to his confidence, on and off the golf course. At such a small tournament, his name resonates.

“They treat you like a star, you play like a star,” he said. “I’m back to being a three-time major winner. I went for that reason – to give my ego a boost. There’s definitely a lot to being a big fish in a small pond.”

That was a proper analogy when PGA National turned into a pond, and Harrington surely played the role of a big fish.

Thanks to nearly four hours of rain delays Friday, he made it through six holes and returned Saturday with back-to-back birdies on the 16th and 17th holes, and then another from about 10 feet on No. 1, posing over just about every shot.

After a bogey set up by a wild tee shot on the par-5 third hole – he had to pitch down the second fairway because of the trees – Harrington ran off three straight birdies before a few loose tee shots cost him. The rough had become so thick and wet that he couldn’t reach the green on his last two holes, making bogeys on both.

He finished at 7-under 133.

“It’s nice to be in contention,” Harrington said. “I’m very positive about my game coming in here this week. I don’t know what’s going to happen the next 36 holes, but I have a good idea where I’m going. I’m pretty confident.”

Reed finished his 67 on Friday.

Poulter matched the low round of the week at PGA National with a 64 and was two shots back. He holed out for eagle with a sand wedge on the fourth hole and dropped only one shot on the back nine.

“If I play half as good as I’ve obviously played today, then I’m going to have a chance come Sunday,” Poulter said.

Steele’s 69 score doesn’t reflect his up-and-down day. He didn’t make a par until the 10th hole, playing the front nine with six birdies and three bogeys. And then he made nothing but pars on the back nine except for a double bogey on the 16th.

Luke Donald finished his 67 on Friday and was another shot back at 4-under 136.

The cut was at 4-over 144 and didn’t include Rory McIlroy. His first tournament in America in five months lasted only two days for the world’s No. 1 player. McIlroy bogeyed three of his last four holes on Friday for a 74 and missed the cut by three shots.

Phil Mickelson, who had missed two straight cuts on the West Coast swing, finished up at 67 on Saturday and was five shots behind.

The focus on Sunday starts with Harrington.

“Through 27 holes, I was the most confident guy in the world, and less so at the moment,” he said after his bogey-bogey finish. “I know it’s going to be a long weekend, and a tough weekend. I have two options. I can play well on the weekend or I can dig deep and hang in there.”

Canadian Update:

Adam Hadwin was the lone Canadian to make the cut. The Abbotsford, B.C. native carded a 71 in round 2 to squeak into weekend action.

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Rory McIlroy’s first PGA Tour event in five months lasted only two days.

His road to the Masters hit a speed bump Friday in the Honda Classic when the world’s No. 1 player managed only one birdie in the rain, stumbled badly down the stretch and headed home for the weekend after a 4-over 74, the first time in nearly a year he had consecutive rounds over par.

The cut officially will not be made until Saturday because of a rain delay of nearly four hours, though he knew the score. And he wasn’t happy about it.

“I don’t like missing cuts,” McIlroy said. “You want to be playing on the weekend, and I’m not there. I’m not going to be playing this weekend, which is not nice.”

It was pleasant enough for Patrick Reed, who recovered from a double bogey early in his round by playing bogey-free the rest of the way for another 67. He was the clubhouse leader at 6-under 134. None of the late starters had enough light to play more than 12 holes before the second round was suspended by darkness.

Brendan Steele birdied all four holes he played and was at 8 under.

The Honda Classic is considered the start of the buildup to the Masters, and McIlroy is getting more attention than anyone over the last two decades except for Tiger Woods. McIlroy is No. 1 in the world. He already has won this year. And a green jacket is all that’s missing for him to become the sixth player with the career Grand Slam.

He’s also not about to panic.

“I guess after coming off a three-week break, and then felt a little … I wouldn’t say rusty, but just not quite on top of my game yesterday,” McIlroy said. “And then today, I felt like I was trying to get something going and couldn’t. Coming off three weeks off and playing in conditions like these, it sort of shows you where you’re game is at. Just got to regroup and put some work in and get ready for Miami next week.”

McIlroy is playing twice more before the Masters.

“I wouldn’t worry and read too much into it,” Luke Donald said after a 67 put him at 4-under 136, two shots behind Reed. “Rory has been by far the best players in the world for the last year or so.”

Reed made double bogey on No. 11 – his second hole of the round – and then the rain became so heavy that play was stopped, first for about two hours, and then for nearly another two hours.

“Made for a long day,” Reed said. “But to get off to a rough start with making that double on 11 and to be able to play bogey-free from there on out, it meant a lot to me just because it means my game is where it needs to be.”

McIlroy lives a short drive from PGA National, though that’s not where he wanted to be for the weekend.

While the three bogeys at the end of the round cost him, what really hurt was a bogey on the par-5 18th as he made the turn. He felt his lie in the left rough was good enough for him to go for the green with a fairway metal. It wasn’t, and the ball came up short and into the water, leading to bogey.

That’s also where the big turnaround for Brooks Koepka occurred.

Koepka, who grew up in West Palm Beach, played with McIlroy and Dustin Johnson and opened with a 78. On the 18th, his approach hit a cart path and bounced over the sky box and onto the other side. It took a rules official some time to even figure out where he was. He received a free drop on the other side, 70 yards away, hit wedge to 20 feet and holed the putt.

“I guess you could say it was the kick-start I needed,” Koepka said.

That was the centerpiece of three straight birdies, and Koepka kept right on rolling to fulfill a mission. Swing coach Claude Harmon told him to try to do 10 shots better than a 78, and the 24-year-old told him, “I’ll do better than that.” He shot 64 – a 14-shot improvement – to finish at 2-over 142.

Johnson, a contender at Pebble Beach and Riviera the last two weeks, wasn’t so fortunate. He three-putted from 3 feet on the seventh hole, shot 75 and finished at 12-over 152 to miss his second cut this year.

McIlroy missed the cut for the 29th time in 191 tournaments worldwide, and for the 11th time on the PGA Tour. His last weekend off was at the Irish Open last summer. Boy Wonder has a history of getting streaky with wins and missed cuts, though this would be appear to be more of an aberration.

“It was funny, it felt like the first tournament of the season when I’ve actually played two events,” McIlroy said, referring to his runner-up finish in Abu Dhabi and victory in Dubai. “I felt yesterday maybe a little tentative, just maybe trying to ease my way into the round a little bit and not really being that aggressive. That’s why it’s nice to have four rounds next week to try and put that right.”

CANADIAN UPDATE:

Adam Hadwin was the lone Canadian not to finish Friday. The Abbotsford, B.C. native was sitting 3 over mid-way thru his second round.

David Hearn of Brantford, Ont. (70-75) was 5-over and sitting tied for 81st, in danger of missing the cut.

Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask. (75-75) was 10 over and will miss just his second cut of the season.

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Playing in America for the first time this year, Rory McIlroy’s first shot was a 2-iron out of play.

A relentless wind with gusts that approached 35 mph provided a rude welcome to just about everyone Thursday at the Honda Classic except for Jim Herman, who somehow made it around PGA National without a bogey for a 5-under 65 and a one-shot lead.

McIlroy managed to salvage a tough day with by holing a 30-foot birdie putt and two-putting for birdie on the 18th hole for a 3-over 73. It was his highest opening-round score to par since a 3-over 74 at The Barclays seven months ago. And he didn’t seem too bothered.

The world’s No. 1 player was competing for the first time since he won in Dubai a month ago. And he wasn’t alone. He played with Dustin Johnson, who birdied his last two holes for a 77, and Phoenix Open winner Brooks Koepka, who shot a 78.

“The conditions were obviously very tricky from the start,” McIlroy said. “From the first hole, it was always going to be a day like that. I feel like I salvaged something out of the round the last couple holes, but it was just a day to keep trying, not to give up and know that anything around level, 1-, 2-over par still isn’t out of it.”

Only 19 players managed to break par. Only three holes – both par 5s and the downwind ninth – played under par. Seventeen players had a front-nine score of 40 or higher.

Herman didn’t mind the wind, though he moved to south Florida more than a decade ago and was surprised earlier in the week when there wasn’t hardly any wind at all. Even with a 65, it still wasn’t easy. He twice saved par from the fairway and rolled in a 35-foot birdie putt on the 16th hole.

“I don’t mind it blowing,” Herman said. “I feel like I can control the golf ball pretty well with my iron game. So yeah, it was OK that the wind was blowing.”

Brendan Steele pitched in from about 35 yards to save bogey on the 14th hole, a key moment in his round of 66. Martin Flores, Kapalua winner Patrick Reed and Padraig Harrington were at 67. U.S. Open champion Martin Kaymer was among those at 68.

Harrington would seem to feel at home in these conditions. On a day when the gusts were relentless, they still would be considered a wee breeze in Ireland. Except that the Irishman has spent the last four weeks in gorgeous, calm weather on the West Coast.

“If I had come from Ireland, I probably would be thinking it was a nice day,” Harrington said. “But having played the last four weeks over here, even I was struggling and questioning and doubting myself out there. I found it very difficult.”

McIlroy found that out immediately.

Even starting on the easier first hole, the wind fooled him and took his 2-iron far to the right and toward the driving range. Just like that, he was 2 over.

He found the water left of the green on the par-3 fifth hole for another double bogey, and came a foot within big trouble on the 14th. His tee shot sent left toward the houses and stopped about 18 inches from the out-of-bounds stakes. He made bogey to fall to 5 over with four holes remaining.

Walking to the 15th tee, the power group of the day had put up some shocking numbers.

Johnson, who contended at Riviera and Pebble Beach, was 9 over for his round. Koepka was 5 over. Collectively, that made the group 19 over.

“Walking from 14 green to 15 tee, I said to Brooks, `Let’s just make a couple birdies on the way in, try and get something out of it,'” McIlroy said. “Luckily, I was sort of able to do that. But it was tough. When nothing is going your way and you don’t really have anything to feed off, you don’t see many good shots and guys … we’re all struggling. It was a grind out there. We’ll all go home and put our feet up and get ready for tomorrow.”

No one could remember the last time they faced such wind, which wasn’t that strong for south Florida. There was virtually no wind in Hawaii this year, or even at Pebble Beach. It was a stiff start to the Florida Swing.

Reed had the best score of the afternoon wave, when the wind was at its strongest.

“When I hit 6-iron normally 200 yards and I’m pulling 6-iron from 170, it’s tough,” Reed said. “The main thing was just to stay in my golf swing and just be comfortable and try to be confident that’s the club to hit from those distances. I feel like I did a good job.”

Phil Mickelson opened with a 71 and was relatively pleased, though that was hard work. He hit into water hazards three times on the front nine.

“I really enjoyed the challenge of the day,” Mickelson said. “It’s fun to be back out competing, and I had a good day with the putter.”

Canada’s David Hearn was a shot better than Mickelson. The Brantford, Ont. native opened with a 70 to lead the Canadian contingent in Florida.

Abbotsford, B.C.’s Adam Hadwin opened with a 72, while Weyburn, Sask.’s Graham DeLaet carded a 75.

Mike Weir withdrew with an elbow injury.

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Fans stood three-deep and formed a corridor from the 18th green at PGA National as they tried to get an autograph, a picture or even a close look at Rory McIlroy. Moments later, another group of fans pressed against him with souvenir flags to sign as McIlroy left a conference room.

The attention comes with being the No. 1 player in golf, the apparent heir to Tiger Woods. McIlroy is used to this by now. He has been the best player in the world since August, filling the void of a sport looking for a dominant figure.

“This is the position I want to be in,” McIlroy said Wednesday. “And I want to be in it as long as I can.”

It’s only going to get more chaotic.

McIlroy competes on U.S. soil for the first time in five months when the Honda Classic begins on Thursday. The palm trees and tropical warmth of south Florida are the sure signs that the Masters is around the corner. McIlroy, who blew a four-shot lead in the final round at Augusta National in 2011, goes there with a chance to become only the sixth player to capture the career Grand Slam.

Like other players, the 25-year-old will venture up to Augusta to practice in the coming month. The real preparation is to play good golf, and to allow that confidence to become momentum that he can carry to the first major of the year.

“People talk about momentum and talk about sort of riding it, but I think momentum and confidence are two very similar things in golf,” McIlroy said. “If you’re confident and you’ve had good performances, that confidence seems to carry on. And if you’re happy with how practice goes, then you’re obviously going to be confident going into tournaments. So that’s sort of how I’m feeling right now. And try to keep that feeling for as long as I can.”

It seems like it’s been a long time already.

McIlroy still isn’t anywhere near the roll Woods enjoyed during his peak years. Going into the 2000 Masters, for example, Woods won 11 times in 19 starts and only twice finished out of the top 10. No one was close to him.

In his last 12 starts worldwide dating to the British Open, McIlroy has four victories (including back-to-back majors and a World Golf Championship), four runner-up finishes and has finished out of the top 10 two times.

In his last six tournaments, he has finished no worse than second place in all but one tournament, the Australian Open. So yes, he’s going along quite nicely.

The obstacle at the Honda Classic might be rust.

McIlroy hasn’t played since winning the Dubai Desert Classic on Feb. 1. He got past one potential distraction when he settled a court case involving his former management company. He has been home in south Florida the last three weeks, practicing and playing and trying to stay on this roll during an important part of the season.

McIlroy won the Honda Classic in 2012, the first time he rose to No. 1 in the world. A year ago, he was poised to win again until he stumbled on the back nine at PGA National, only to hit 5-wood into 10 feet on the final hole for a two-putt birdie to get into a four-man playoff. Russell Henley won on the first extra hole. McIlroy didn’t really get going until a few months later, but he’s been tough to beat ever since.

“He’s the best player in the world,” Rickie Fowler said. “And when he’s driving the ball well, that’s when he’s deadliest. So he did a good job of putting himself in play last year and obviously hits longer than a lot of guys, too.”

Woods isn’t around. He said two weeks ago he wouldn’t return to competition until his game was in tournament shape. So far, that’s just one tournament – the Honda Classic – though the attention on the absence of Woods is sure to ratchet up if he misses Bay Hill.

McIlroy is mixing up his schedule slightly this year. He’ll be at the WGC event next week at Doral and then play the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill for the first time, making it likely he will have two weeks off for Augusta.

The Masters, at the moment, is not on his mind.

“I feel like I’ve got a nice schedule going into Augusta,” McIlroy said. “I’m not playing too much, but I’m playing just enough that I should be as sharp as possible going in there. I haven’t thought about it. What I really thought about over the past couple of weeks is getting ready for these events coming up, and trying to play as well as I possibly can in those. So that gives me a little confidence going into a little break to prepare as well as I can for Augusta.”

LOS ANGELES – Too nervous to look, too stunned to dance, James Hahn won the Northern Trust Open for his first PGA Tour title Sunday by holing a 25-foot birdie putt on the third extra hole at Riviera.

In a wild finish off Sunset Boulevard just as the Academy Awards was getting started, Hahn wound up with the trophy against a field of far bigger names to earn his first trip to the Masters.

He got up-and-down from behind the 18th green in regulation to save par for a 2-under 69. And that turned out to be good enough for a playoff when Dustin Johnson missed a 10-foot birdie putt for the win. Johnson closed with a 69.

Paul Casey joined them in the playoff at 6-under 278 when he made bogey on the 18th hole for a 68.

Sergio Garcia finished bogey-bogey for a 71 to finish one shot out of the playoff. Jordan Spieth, thinking he needed birdie to get to 7 under for a playoff, nearly holed his aggressive chip on the 18th, and then missed the 6-foot par putt coming back. He shot 70 and missed the playoff by one, as did Keegan Bradley (68) and Hideki Matsuyama (67).

All three players made par on the 18th in the playoff, and then headed to the 10th hole, 310 yards of endless trouble. Casey was in the best shape just left of the green, hit a good chip to 15 feet and missed his putt.

Hahn and Johnson were in the rough behind the green and both hit daring flop shots over the back bunker that turned out perfectly. Hahn made his birdie from 10 feet, and Johnson matched him from 3 feet.

On the par-3 14th hole, Hahn pumped his fist when his 25-foot putt broke gently to the right and into the cup. He kept his head down when Johnson stood over his 12-foot birdie try to extend the playoff, looking up only when he heard the groans instead of a cheer.

“This is amazing,” Hahn said. “I never would have thought I would win this tournament.”

A shoe salesman as he tried to find his way in golf, Hahn was best known until now for his “Gangnam Style” celebration of his birdie two years ago on the 16th hole at the Phoenix Open.

Hahn is the first player from Cal to win on the PGA Tour. He still has 72 more wins to catch up with that other Golden Bear – Jack Nicklaus – though this was a great way to start.

He gets into his first World Golf Championship in two week at Doral, and he’s headed to the Masters.

Johnson, in his third tournament since returning from a six-month break to seek professional help for what he called “personal challenges,” made bogey with a wedge in his hand on the par-5 17th when he hit into a bunker, costing him a clear path toward winning.

Garcia let this one get away just as badly.

He had a one-shot lead playing the 17th and hooked his drive into the trees. Then, he blew his 50-foot putt from the fringe some 8 feet by the hole and missed the par putt. Tied for the lead, he pulled another tee shot into the left rough, came up short and chipped weakly to 25 feet for a bogey-bogey finish.

“I’ve always been truthful to myself and I didn’t deserve to win this week. It’s as simple as that,” Garcia said. “It caught up with my on the last six, seven holes. It was already a good effort for me to have a chance. Unfortunately, it’s never nice to finish bogey-bogey. But I can’t really be disappointed because I didn’t play well enough.”

Retief Goosen held on as long as he could until a horrid stretch on the back nine. The 46-year-old South African, going for his first victory in nearly six years, went from the trees on the left to the trees on the right and made double bogey on No. 13. He followed with two more bogeys. Only a pair of birdies at the end salvaged an otherwise miserable final round and he closed with a 75.

Everyone seemed to have a chance. Seven players had at least a share of the lead during the final round. That included Vijay Singh, who turned 52 on Sunday and was tied for the lead with a beautiful bunker shot to 10 feet on No. 10 for birdie. He didn’t made another birdie the rest of the way, fell back with a bogey on the 15th as the rain started to pound Riviera, and then taking double bogey on the par-3 16th. He shot 72.

Bae Sang-Moon also was tied for the lead until bogeys on the 11th and 12th holes. He closed with a 72 and tied for eighth.

Weyburn, Sask. product Graham DeLaet finished in a four-way tie for 8th following a final round 2-over 73. Adam Hadwin finished with a share of 22nd place at even par.