DORAL, Fla. – Patrick Reed ended a long opening round at the Cadillac Championship on Friday with a 4-under 68 to take a one-shot lead as the new Blue Monster showed some bite.

Just ask Tiger Woods.

A four-time champion at Doral, the world’s No. 1 player finished off a 76 for his highest score in 40 complete rounds on the course. He wasn’t alone. Steve Stricker, the runner-up to Woods last year, had a 77. Masters champion Adam Scott took a big step back in his bid to reach No. 1 in the world with a 75. Four players, including former U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson, failed to break 80.

Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., opened with a 78.

Only six players finished the first round Thursday because of a storm delay lasting more than two hours.

The rest of the field who had to return Friday morning did not find typical peaceful conditions. Donald Trump, who bought the resort and brought in Gil Hanse for a complete makeover, described it as “bold.” In this wind, it was brutal.

Woods played with Scott and Henrik Stenson in the traditional grouping of Nos. 1-2-3 in the world. They all made double bogey on the 14th hole _ Woods from the middle of the fairway with what appeared to be a perfect shot into the green. It trickled into a back bunker, and he needed two to get out.

Stenson went left into the water that typically is not in play. Scott went into the water, and then clanked one off a palm tree.

Stenson stopped walking off the 15th green and said, “Are you having fun watching?” And then he smiled as he looked back over his shoulder and said, “Because it’s sure as hell not any fun to be playing.”

Stenson, who had a shank on the second hole Thursday, birdied the 18th for a 73.

Harris English finished Thursday with a 69 (on a 45-foot birdie putt). He was joined by Francesco Molinari, Jason Dufner, Dustin Johnson, Matt Kuchar and Hunter Mahan. Rory McIlroy and Luke Donald were in the group at 70, along with Miguel Angel Jimenez, who had the most remarkable round. He didn’t make a bogey.

Another Spaniard wasn’t so fortunate.

Sergio Garcia was playing nicely until a 5-wood plugged in a bunker on the 16th hole, and he had no chance of getting out. His third shot flew over the green, over the corporate suite and into a water hazard next to the second green. He made triple bogey and went from a chance to break par to a 74.

“So much for being benign conditions in the morning,” Zach Johnson said after a 70.

Not only was it windy, it came out of the west. The course had been set up Thursday for a more southerly direction, and it showed. Dufner went over the 12th green in two with a 3-iron. Stenson, typically 30 yards longer off the tee, couldn’t reach with a 3-wood.

Zach Johnson needed a 3-wood to reach the side of the par-4 14th green, though he felt like Hercules on the 18th, usually the toughest on the Blue Monster. Johnson had a pitching wedge for his second shot.

The tough wind and the scores altered opinions about the new design.

“Certainly, people hitting greens, going in the water, that is certainly more of a case this year than it was in the old design,” Donald said. “Water is much more in play now on a lot more holes, and with shaved banks and greens this fast and decent slopes … as fast as greens are, there’s just nothing to stop it.

“I’m sure Mr. Trump wanted something pretty hard and a test. A World Golf Championship, he wanted something severe,” Donald said. “But it’s bordering on unfair on a few holes.”

Woods didn’t show any signs of having back trouble, which led to him walking off the Honda Classic on Sunday after 13 holes. He showed his game wasn’t sharp, however, and in this wind, that was only exaggerated.

He started with a bogey from the bunker on No. 11. He missed a 4-foot par putt on the 13th. Woods threw his wedge against his bag on the 14th after being in an impossible spot in the bunker. His score might have been worse if not for three straight birdies.

He headed straight to the range to get ready for the second round, another 18 holes on a course that is giving most of the world’s best players fits.

DORAL, Fla. – Tiger Woods only made it through 10 holes Thursday – this time because of the weather, not his back.

The debut of the new Blue Monster, and the return of Woods, received an incomplete grade Thursday when the opening round of the Cadillac Championship was halted more than two hours because of menacing thunderstorms.

Harris English was among only six players who finished the round, hitting 5-iron into the par-3 ninth hole and rolling in a 45-foot birdie putt for a 3-under 69.

The golf course and the world’s No. 1 player showed enough.

Woods, who walked off after 13 holes Sunday in the Honda Classic because of lower back pain and spasms, said he warmed up well and felt good during the delay. His golf didn’t look all that great. He was 2-over par through 10 holes, ending the day with a wedge that came up some 20 yards short of his target, leading to a three-putt for bogey from about 55 feet.

“I’m ready to go back out tomorrow and play well,” he said.

Trump National Doral, completely overhauled by Gil Hanse, showed plenty of bite on a windy, cloudy afternoon. Jason Dufner was going along beautifully for 10 holes until he struggled to find fairways in a crosswind. Brett Rumford began his round by hitting four shots before he put one in play. Three went into the water on the par-5 10th, and he started out with an 11.

“Mr. Trump wanted a very tough test on the Blue Monster, and I think that’s what he got,” English said.

The course average was at 73.8.

Dufner, Hunter Mahan, Francesco Molinari and Patrick Reed also were at 3 under when the round was suspended by darkness. The 62 players who failed to finish will return Friday morning to complete the round.

Russell Henley, coming off a playoff win last week at the Honda Classic, made only one par in six holes on the back nine – two birdies, three bogeys. He was in the group at 2 under that included Masters champion Adam Scott, who is in the Nos. 1-2-3 group with Woods and Henrik Stenson.

Stenson might have hit the most memorable shot of the day – a cold shank from the middle of the second fairway that sailed at a 45-degree angle into bushes.

Scott has a chance to replace Woods at No. 1 in the world if he wins this World Golf Championship and Woods finishes worse that fifth.

Rory McIlroy got off to a blazing start with four birdies in five holes, only to end the back nine with back-to-back bogeys with a long three-putt bogey and a tee shot on the 18th that caught the edge of the water and bounded into the hazard.

That might be the most penal aspect of the new Doral. Anything hit toward some of the edges feeds toward the water, and there’s a lot of water in play.

Not even English was immune. His tee shot on the 18th found the water, and he still had 4-iron to get to the green. But he bounced back on the par-5 first hole by smashing a tee shot so far with help from the wind and the firm fairways that he had a 7-iron left from 213 yards. He hit that to 12 feet for a two-putt birdie, and he was bogey-free the rest of the way.

Dufner said he hasn’t had to think his way around a golf course this much since he was at Muirfield last year for the British Open, even though the tracks are nothing alike.

“This used to be a golf course where you grab your driver on every hole, swing for the fences and play from there,” he said. “You can’t get away with that here at Doral anymore.”

Dufner didn’t feel comfortable with driver on the 14th, so he laid back and had 236 yards left to the par 4. He hit 3-iron and made birdie, anyway. Other times, he failed to dial it back and paid the price.

“You’re not going to go through this tournament on this golf course anymore with no bogeys,” he said. “Everybody is going to be making some bogeys here and there, so pretty happy with where I’m at.”

Jordan Spieth already had three bogeys and a double bogey on the par-5 12th hole. He countered with five birdies and was even par through 15 holes. Only 19 players were under par when the round was stopped.

Woods made two bogeys without a single birdie. He’ll have eight holes remaining Friday morning to make up some ground.

“Should be a long day for all of us,” Woods said. “Hopefully, tomorrow I can get back out there in the morning, play well and work back to even par by the end of the first round, then shoot a low one in the afternoon.”

DIVOTS: Brendon de Jonge said he injured his right ribs in the final round at the Honda Classic. He is on pain medication, which he said makes him feel a bit light-headed. The Zimbabwean opened with a 76. He said he would take next week off and have an MRI. … Canada’s Graham DeLaet only got 9 holes of play in Thursday – he was 4-over par thanks to two bogeys and a double bogey.

RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico – Brian Stuard birdied seven his first 12 holes in windy conditions Thursday to take the first-round lead in the Puerto Rico Open.

Stuard finished with a 6-under 66, dropping a stroke on the par-4 seventh hole – his 16th of the day – in wind gusting to 20 mph at Trump International Golf Club-Puerto Rico.

“Wind is blowing pretty good out there, so got to hit some good shots,” Stuard said. “I did well. I kept it in play nice off the tee, didn’t get in much trouble, and only made the one bogey.”

The highest ranked player in the field in the FedEx Cup standings at No. 13, Stuard finished second in November in the OHL Classic in Mexico. He also had a strong run in January, fishing sixth in the Sony Open in Hawaii and sixth the next week in the Humana Challenge in California.

“I’ve just been playing pretty solid, but been putting well,” Stuard said. “I putted really good to start off the year and then kind of last few weeks not quite as good and then good today.”

Jason Gore and Danny Lee shot 67, and Y.E. Yang was another stroke back along with Ricky Barnes, William McGirt, Tim Petrovic, Chesson Hadley, Eric Axley and Ben Martin.

“It wasn’t easy out there,” Lee said. “It was very windy, and there’s some tough pin placements out there, but I played very smart today and I hit it where I wanted to hit it, and I rolled it really nicely with the putter. It was a really good day for me.”

Defending champion Scott Brown opened with a 70.

Calgary’s Stephen Ames and Brantford, Ont.’s David Hearn opened with matching 2-under par 70’s and share 32nd spot. Brad Fritsch is a single-shot back of the Canadian pair after a 1-under 71. The Ottawa native is tied for 44th.

DIVOTS: Tommy Gainey withdrew during the round because of an elbow injury. … The winner will receive $630,000 from the $3.5 million purse. … John Daly had a triple-bogey 7 on the par-4 12th hole in a round of 74. … Tom Kite and Bruce Besse Jr. designed the course.

DORAL, Fla. –  Match Play champion Jason Day of Australia has withdrawn from the Cadillac Championship because of a thumb injury.

Day was making his first start since winning the Match Play Championship in Arizona two weeks ago. He says his left thumb bothered him the last time he played and the pain persisted at Doral.

Day says he had an MRI in Miami on Wednesday. The results were negative, but he says the doctor recommended rest.

At No. 4 in the world, Day says he will rest for the next couple of weeks. He did not indicate when he might play again.

Oakville, Ont. – Golf Canada, in partnership with title sponsor RBC, has announced the qualifying format for the 2014 RBC Canadian Open, scheduled for July 21-27 at The Royal Montreal Golf Club in Île-Bizard, Que.

A two-stage qualifying procedure for Canada’s National Open Championship will feature three regional qualifying competitions in British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec, followed by a final qualifying event on Monday, July 21st.

The first regional qualifier will take place June 9th at Marine Drive Golf Club in Vancouver. The second regional qualifying event will be hosted by Elm Ridge Country Club in Île-Bizard, Que., on June 16th. The third and final regional qualifier will take place June 23rd at Whistle Bear Golf Club in Cambridge, Ont. A final qualifier will take place Monday July 21st at Club de Golf St-Raphaël in Île-Bizard, Que.

Each of the three regional qualifiers will feature 18 holes stroke play with the low qualifier at each site receiving an exemption directly into the 2014 RBC Canadian Open field (provided the starting field is a minimum of 100 competitors at each site.)  The top 15% of finishers at each regional qualifying competition are eligible to compete at final qualifying. In addition, the top 15% does not include the low qualifier when over 100 competitors participate and a direct exemption is provided.

The entry deadline for the British Columbia regional qualifier at Marine Drive Golf Club in Vancouver is Monday, June 2nd, while all entries for the Quebec regional qualifier at Elm Ridge Country Club in Île-Bizard, Que. are due Monday, June 9th. The entry deadline for the Ontario regional qualifier at Whistle Bear Golf Club in Cambridge, Ont. is Monday, June 16th.

Final qualifying is scheduled for Monday, July 21st at Club de Golf St-Raphaël in Île-Bizard, Que. Participation is limited to those competitors receiving requisite exemptions, or individuals who have qualified through regional qualifying. The event will feature 18 holes of stroke play, with a minimum of four (4) spots directly into the 2014 RBC Canadian Open field. The entry deadline is Monday, July 14th.

The qualifying competition is open to members in good standing of the PGA of Canada or other PGA affiliates, amateur golfers (with a current Handicap Factor not to exceed 2.0) who are members of clubs belonging to Golf Canada or clubs in other countries in good standing with their respective associations, and other golf professionals.

In all, a total of 24 exemptions, including the seven (7) awarded through regional and final qualifiers are available for the 2014 RBC Canadian Open at The Royal Montreal Golf Club in Île-Bizard, Que.

For more information about complete qualifying criteria and to register, click here.

DORAL, Fla. – The only tools Tiger Woods used Wednesday at Doral were a wedge, a putter and a gold pair of scissors.

Three days after he withdrew in the middle of the final round at the Honda Classic with lower back pain, Woods returned to work at the Cadillac Championship by saying he feels better after a few days of constant treatment, and that he was good enough to try to defend his title.

He just won’t be playing the new Blue Monster until the opening round Thursday. Still being cautious about back spasms, Woods said he would chip and putt while walking a course that is entirely different from the one where he has won four times.

As for the scissors?

That was for the ceremonial opening of the Tiger Woods Villa at Trump National Doral.

Woods playing Doral was not a big surprise. The last time he dealt with back spasms in the final round was at The Barclays last August (he tied for second), and he played the following week outside Boston.

Even so, it was the second time in 10 tournaments that Woods experience back pain during a round. It was the fourth time in five years that he withdrew in the middle of a round because of injury. For a guy with four surgeries on his left knee, the focus has shifted to his lower back.

“I think we have to take a more global look at it, absolutely, because it comes and goes,” Woods said. “We’ve got to make sure that we do preventative things to make sure that it doesn’t happen and adjust certain things, whether it’s swing, lifting, whatever it may be. You have to make certain adjustments. We’ve done that throughout my entire career, and this is no different.”

His health is only part of the drama at Doral.

The lone applause at the end of a 20-minute press conference came from Donald Trump, who took over the resort and whose presence is everywhere. The majority of the 69-man field at this World Golf Championship is gearing up for the Masters next month. And at stake this week is a possible change atop the world ranking.

Woods returned to No. 1 nearly one year ago when he won at Bay Hill. Now, it’s Masters champion Adam Scott who has a mathematical chance of being No. 1 for the first time in his career provided he wins this week.

“It would be a dream come true to make it to that point, but it’s not necessarily probable, either,” Scott said. “If you look at stats and numbers, there’s no reason why I’m just going to roll out and win this week. But there’s great motivation for me to do that.”

The motivation for Woods is to complete 72 holes without injury. It’s being fit for the Masters, his next chance to end a five-year drought in the majors.

“It’s been a long couple days of just treatments nonstop, trying to get everything calmed down,” he said. “First of all, get all the inflammation out and from there, getting the firing sequence right again, getting everything firing in the proper sequence. And once we did that today, feels good.”

He did hit balls Tuesday at his home in Jupiter Island, no shot longer than 60 yards, mainly an attempt to make sure he kept the feel with his hands on a golf club. His caddie came down to Doral and charted the course, giving Woods an idea of what to expect.

That wouldn’t do it justice.

“I’m like, `What? There’s water on that hole?'” Woods said.

There is water just about everywhere, including a new lake on the 15th and 16th holes that figures to play a big role in the Sunday finish. The PGA Tour issued a release detailing the changes:

• Rebuilt and reshaped all the greens.
• Rebuilt and repositioned all the bunkers.
• Rebuilt all the tees.
• Rebuilt all the fairways.

Now if Woods can only rebuild his body. He turned 38 last year, though health concerns are nothing new. He had the first of his four knee surgeries while at Stanford. He said he first experienced back pain in college.

“I’ve had a knee injury, wrist injury, elbows, you name it. Now I’ve had back, neck. It’s the nature of repetitive sport,” Woods said. “We do the same motion. Some guys do it a thousand times a day, but it’s the same exact motion. So you have repetitive injuries and most of my injuries are that. So that’s the nature of why we lift, why we work out – to prevent a lot of these things and keep us healthy and keep us out here.

“As we get older – and I’ve learned it as I’ve aged – I don’t quite heal as fast I used to.”

The real concern is his back, however.

Woods said even with shredded ligaments and two stress fractures, he was able to win the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines because the pain didn’t arrive until after he had launched his shot. He said at the Honda Classic, his movement became so restricted that he couldn’t rotate his body. The pain occurred as he was starting his swing and affected how he struck the ball.

“A bad back is something that is no joke,” he said. “With the back, it’s a totally different deal. There are certain movements you just can’t do. That’s one of the things I’ve started to learn about this type of injury. It’s very different.”

DORAL, Fla. – Honda Classic winner Russell Henley can only hope the next 14 months are better than the 14 months that followed his first PGA Tour victory.

A quick, decisive player with a smooth putting stroke, Henley won his debut as a PGA Tour member in January 2013. It earned him automatic exemptions into the Masters, PGA Championship and four World Golf Championships. His FedEx Cup points turned out to be enough for a spot in the British Open, and the ranking points got him into the U.S. Open.

It proved to be a bit much.

“It was a lot to deal with after I won,” Henley said. “I played in the Masters, played in all the majors, played in all the WGCs, and I don’t know that I was really prepared to do all that mentally.”

Over the next 32 tournaments, Henley missed the cut 11 times and had only two top 10s: a tie for sixth at Hilton Head and the Memorial, neither time in serious contention over the final hour.

His playoff win at PGA National landed him at Doral this week. He’s eligible for the Masters, PGA Championship and two more WGCs (Firestone and Shanghai).

“I think this year, I’m more excited to keep playing golf and keep getting better, and I feel like I’ve got a little bit better direction that I’m going in right now,” Henley said. “I feel like I know what is going to make me better. A full year on tour will teach you a lot about who you are and what you need to do with your game – what works, what doesn’t work. I think a year of experience is huge for me.

“Golf is so hard that nobody knows for sure if they are going to keep anything going,” he said. “I know I can control my work ethic and my attitude, and hopefully I can keep those consistent.”

Video: Teeing up the WGC Cadillac Championship

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – The last time Tiger Woods quit in the middle of a round because of an injury, he won his next tournament. And then he followed that with his highest score ever in the Masters, the ultimate measure of Woods these days.

Now what?

Making predictions about the world’s No. 1 player is like gauging the wind at Amen Corner. You’re bound to get it wrong for three reasons:

• Only an athlete knows how badly he is hurt.
• Golf is too unpredictable under the best of times.
• He’s Tiger Woods.

NBC Sports analyst Johnny Miller got it right at the start of the year when he was talking about which players might have big years. He stopped short of naming a list of players because of reason No. 2. And then he added this nugget:

“It was pretty easy to predict Tiger there for a while,” Miller said.

These days, about all anyone can safely predict about Woods is that he’ll wear a red shirt on Sunday.

Assuming he makes it to Sunday.

In two starts on the PGA Tour this year, Woods is measured by letters instead of numbers. He had an “MDF” at Torrey Pines, which is the tour’s acronym for players who miss the 54-hole cut. And he had a “WD” at the Honda Classic when he withdrew after 13 holes on the final round on Sunday.

The question now is how long he will be MIA.

The leaders were finishing up the front nine when attention shifted from the golf course to the PGA National parking lot that suddenly was swarming with police. Some two dozen reporters and photographers were waiting for Woods. He finally showed up in a white passenger van, changed out of his shoes and then was driven off in a black Mercedes-Benz to his home just north on Jupiter Island.

Just like last time _ just like always _ only Woods knows the amount of the pain and the degree of the injury.

He said through spokesman Glenn Greenspan that he felt “lower back problems with spasms” as he was warming up Sunday morning. On the third hole, he hit a tee shot so far to the right that it wound up in a water hazard to the left of the sixth green. And when he played the sixth hole, he pulled his tee shot into the water. Six holes into the final round, Woods already was 5 over for the day and 12 shots out of the lead.

He said he would get treatment every day to “calm it down.” As for playing next week at Doral, he said he would wait until Thursday to see how it feels.

The Blue Monster is more blue than ever after a redesign ordered by new owner Donald Trump. Woods is the defending champion at the Cadillac Championship, though the course where he has won four times is not what it used to be.

But this isn’t about whether he can play Doral or Bay Hill two weeks later, or how he will fare at Augusta National next month. The injuries are starting to pile up since he returned from the chaos in his personal life.

Woods had two WDs on his professional record through 2009. One was at Pebble Beach in 1998 when he chose not to return after a seven-month rain delay to finish. The other was in 2006 at Riviera when he made the cut and then withdrew the next morning with the flu.

Now he has four in the last five years.

He left after six holes of the final round at The Players Championship in 2010 because of a bulging disk in his neck. He went into the final round 10 shots out of the lead. A year later, he quit after nine holes and 42 strokes at The Players because of a leg injury. He didn’t return for three months.

Woods’ didn’t finish the final round at Doral in 2012 because of his Achilles tendon (and then he won at Bay Hill two weeks later). And now he starts out 2014 by having to pull out of another tournament.

That’s five straight years when a season has been interrupted by injury. He didn’t withdraw last year, though he missed his own AT&T National and a scheduled start at The Greenbrier Classic because of a left elbow strain.

Sunday at the Honda Classic was not his first issue with lower back pain. He said the feelings were the same as they were at The Barclays last summer, when he dropped to his knees after one shot in the final round. He finished out that round in a tie for second, one shot behind Adam Scott.

He didn’t finish among the top 10 the rest of the FedEx Cup playoffs. Then again, he went 4-1 and earned the most points at the Presidents Cup. He tied for third in Turkey. He lost in a playoff to Zach Johnson at his 18-man World Challenge. How much did the back pain linger? Only Woods knows.

Woods turned 38 last December, and he looks a tired 38.

He spoke earlier in the year at Dubai about spending much of the off-season “to get my body organized,” conceding he didn’t practice as much as he would have liked. The Masters is just over a month away, no time for him to panic. If anything, this might help take some pressure off his bid to end five years without a major.

Woods said at the start of last week that once the PGA Tour gets to Florida, everyone is thinking about their way to Augusta.

He wasn’t planning on another detour.

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Russell Henley chipped in for birdie and then hit into the water on his next shot for double bogey. He watched Rory McIlroy throw away a lead with a double bogey and a bogey, only to stand over a 12-foot eagle putt on the next hole with a chance to win.

A wild Sunday at PGA National ended in a four-man playoff, with Henley making good on his second chance at the par-5 18th to win the Honda Classic.

“This doesn’t feel real,” Henley said.

It didn’t look much differently, starting with Tiger Woods walking off the course after 13 holes because of lower back pain, and ending with a series of blunders over the closing holes of a tournament that no one seemed to want to win.

Eight yards away from where he had hit drive on the 18th in regulation, Henley ripped another 5-wood and aimed a little more right. It barely cleared the bunker and stopped 40 feet away on the green for a two-putt birdie that was good enough to win when McIlroy, Ryan Palmer and Russell Knox could only make par.

In regulation, Henley turned what should have been a good chance at birdie into a struggle for par by missing the green well to the left and chunking his chip only halfway to the hole. He had to two-putt from 60 feet for a par and a 72, joining the playoff at 8-under 272.

“So the next time, I just said, `All these guys are probably going to make birdie.’ And I just needed to trust my swing and put the best swing I can on it and not be too worried about where it goes,” Henley said.

For McIlroy, it was his tournament to lose, and he did just that.

He started with a two-shot lead and closed with a 74. The biggest blow came on the 16th hole, when he tried to hit 6-iron out of the bunker and over the water, caught too much sand and went in the water for double bogey. Still tied for the lead, he went long on the 17th and failed to save par from the bunker. Down to his last shot, he delivered the best one of the day – a 5-wood from 236 yards that dropped 12 feet from the hole.

His eagle putt for the win just slid by on the right. That turned out to be his best chance. In the playoff, with a drive about 10 yards longer, McIlroy went into a back bunker and couldn’t keep his next shot on the green.

“I didn’t play well enough to deserve a win today,” McIlroy said.

It was his second straight tournament in stroke play where he crashed out in the final group. Last month at the Dubai Desert Classic, he was two shots out of the lead and stumbled on the back nine to a 74.

“Seventy-four today wasn’t good enough to get the job done,” McIlroy said. “Even if I had won, it would have felt a little bit undeserved in a way. So when you go out with a two-shot lead, you have to play well and you have to go out and win the thing. And if I had won today, I would have counted myself very lucky. Just got to pick myself up, get back at it and try and get myself into contention at Doral next week and try and get the job done.”

Palmer was the only player in the final six groups to break par with a 69 on a day when PGA National showed some bite, with an average score of 71.8. Even so, he missed putts inside 8 feet on the last five holes, including a 5-footer for par on the 18th that would have won it in regulation.

In the playoff, he missed a 10-foot birdie putt to the left.

Knox needed a birdie in regulation for a chance to win, and instead went from the bunker to deep rough to over the green before making a 10-foot par putt and a 71. He was the only player to lay up in the playoff, and he missed a 20-foot birdie attempt.

Woods missed all the action.

He was 12 shots out of the lead and 5-over par for the day when he began gingerly placing the ball on the tee and picking it out of the cup. He removed his cap to shake hands with Luke Guthrie on the 13th tee – the farthest point from the clubhouse – and called for a ride back to the parking lot.

Woods said he would get treatment every day before deciding whether to play Doral next week.

Henley only had two top 10s since winning the Sony Open last year in his debut as a PGA Tour member. He was overwhelmed by the all the perks from winning so early, and now gets to experience it again.

The victory not only gets the 24-year-old from Georgia into the Masters, he moved into the top 50 in the world ranking and qualified for the Cadillac Championship next week at Doral. He also gets in two more World Golf Championships, and secured his spot in the PGA Championship.

What should ease the pain for McIlroy is another shot at winning, and the shot that nearly made that happen.

Trailing by one shot on the 549-yard closing hole, he hit 5-wood at the flag, a shot reminiscent of the 5-iron Woods hit two years ago for eagle and a 62. Except that McIlroy didn’t make the putt, and he didn’t get a chance better than that one.

McIlroy still had a better week at the Honda Classic when he was No. 1 in the world and walked off the course after 26 holes out of sheer frustration. This time, it was Woods who was No. 1 and walked off the course, surely concerned about increasing health issues.

Brantford, Ont.’s David Hearn shot a 3-under 67 on Sunday to share sixth with Will MacKenzie at 6-under 274. After his round, Hearn took to Twitter to thank his fans for their support this week.

Thanks for all the support this week. Felt good to play some nice golf again!!Looking forward to the next couple weeks. #hondaclassic

— David Hearn (@HearnDavid) March 2, 2014

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Rory McIlroy did just enough to keep the lead Saturday in the Honda Classic with a 1-under 69, giving him a two-shot lead and a chance to win on the PGA Tour for the first time in 18 months.

McIlroy avoided a big number early in his round with a superb shot off the pine straw to escape with bogey, and he gave himself a slightly bigger cushion late as the wind picked up at PGA National. He hit 5-iron over the water and into the wind to 10 feet for birdie on the 16th hole. He narrowly missed two more to close out his round.

McIlroy was at 12-under 198, two shots ahead of Russell Henley.

Henley, who has not been in serious contention since winning his debut as a PGA Tour member last year in the Sony Open, made a late surge with two great shots. He holed out from 150 yards for eagle on the 14th, and made a 50-foot birdie putt from just off the 17th green. He shot a 68.

Russell Knox of Scotland had a 68 and was another shot behind.

Tiger Woods moved up 49 spots on the leaderboard after a 65 so early in the morning that he finished two hours before McIlroy started. Woods wound up in a tie for 17th, though he was still seven shots behind. Woods has never won on the PGA Tour when trailing by more than five shots going into the final round, though he once came from eight shots behind to win on the European Tour in 1998.

“Today was a positive day,” Woods said after his lowest score in 10 rounds this year. “Hit the ball well and made some putts and got myself back in the hunt.”

But there were 16 players ahead of him, and one big name at the top.

McIlroy, coming off the worst season of his young career, began to turn the corner late last year and finally won at the Australian Open. Twice this year in stroke-play tournaments, he had chances to win going into the final round, in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

This is his best opportunity yet.

“It’s all about not making mistakes,” McIlroy said. “It’s about limiting the damage. You’re going to make a few bogeys out there. If you limit those, hit fairways and greens, that’s what I’m going to try to do tomorrow.”

He gave a supreme example of that on the par-3 seventh hole.

McIlroy opened with two birdies in three holes and was motoring along until pulling his approach on No. 6 and chipping poorly to make bogey. On the next hole, he pulled his tee shot well left of the green. The ball wound up under a palmetto bush, and McIlroy had to take a penalty drop.

Playing off the pine straw to an elevated green, he pitched it beautifully into the slope and past the pin by about 8 feet, and then holed that for a bogey.

That was his last mistake until missing the green to the right from the middle of the 14th fairway and missing a 6-foot putt.

Henley has only two top 10s in 32 starts on the PGA Tour since he won the Sony Open last year. He’s trailing by two shots, and also is well behind on experience in the last group. But he loves the idea he at least has a chance.

“I’m trying not to pay attention to what Rory is doing,” Henley said. “Obviously, he’s playing great and he’s been in this situation a little bit more than me. But I still have a lot of confidence and I’m just going to try to play my game and not worry about what he’s doing too much.”

It would be a remarkable turnaround for McIlroy, who a year ago was so frustrated with his game and high expectations that he walked off the course after 26 holes, a mistake he vowed to never repeat.

“There’s still 18 holes to go,” said McIlroy, the 2012 winner at PGA National. “But I’m feeling comfortable with where I am.”

Even so, McIlroy has proven to be tough to catch. Ever since he blew a four-shot lead at the Masters three years ago, he has converted every 54-hole lead into a win.

DIVOTS: Brendon de Jonge, who started the third round one shot behind McIlroy, shot a 76. … The 54-hole cut was made to exactly 70 players. Among those who failed to make it to Sunday were Mark Calcavecchia (73) and William McGirt (78). …Knox is the only player among the top eight who has never won on the PGA Tour. …Canada’s David Hearn is tied for 35th after a third-round, even par 70.