• Honda Classic, Round Four

McIlroy fends off Tiger to clinch No. 1 spot

Rory McIlroy kept his cool under pressure © Getty Images

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Rory McIlroy held his nerve to claim victory at the Honda Classic in Florida to secure his status as the new world No. 1.

McIlroy, who missed out on the chance to usurp Luke Donald at the top of the world rankings at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona last week, needed no second invitation as he fended off the likes of Tiger Woods, Justin Rose and Lee Westwood to claim victory by two strokes at Palm Beach.

Tiger Woods only narrowly made the cut on Friday, but the former world No. 1 fired a warning to McIlroy that he is firmly on the comeback trail ahead of next month's Masters with a sizzling final round of 62 to catapult him to an impressive second.

At 22, McIlroy is the second youngest player to top the world rankings after Woods, who reached the top of the pile at the age of 21 in 1997.

Having been in with a shout of clinching the world No. 1 spot in Arizona last week, Lee Westwood could not return to the top of the world rankings even if he won the event in Florida this week, but the Englishman produced a late charge to storm up the leaderboard and threaten to ruin McIlroy's day with a seven-under 63.

However, after reaching the turn at one-under McIlroy recovered from a bogey at the 12th, draining an eight-foot birdie putt at the next hole. Having saved par at the 14th, McIlroy successfully negotiated the notorious Bear Trap to card a one-under 69 to clinch victory.

"It was tough today, especially seeing Tiger make a charge," McIlroy said. "I knew par golf would probably be good enough and that's what I was trying to do, so to shoot one under is very nice and I was able to get the job done. My short game all week has been very good and it's what you need on a tough course like this. You know you are not going to hit every green."

McIlroy finished two strokes clear of Woods and Tom Gillis, who matched playing partner McIlroy's 69 to finish on 10-under. Westwood finished fourth, while Masters champion Charl Schwartzel and Justin Rose claimed a share of fifth with rounds of 69 and 70 respectively.

Graeme McDowell shrugged off a languid start to fire a final-round 69 to claim a share of ninth place. After three bogeys on his opening four holes, McDowell rallied, firing three straight birdies to reach the turn in 34, before nine straight pars to finish on five-under.

While ultimately he could only manage a three-over 73 to finish on level-par for the tournament, the shot of the day belonged to Charles Howell III, who claimed a spectacular hole-in-one at the par-three seventh.

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