• World Golf Final

McIlroy crashes out in Turkey

Rory McIlroy never threatened Tiger Woods after slipping five shots down by the seventh © Getty Images

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Rory McIlroy's slim hopes of reaching the semi-finals of the World Golf Final were quickly scotched as the world No. 1 suffered his third straight round robin defeat to Tiger Woods.

The Northern Irishman needed to beat Woods comprehensively to have any hope of making the final four after back-to-back losses against Matt Kuchar and Charl Schwartzel, but soon found himself trailing by five shots.

Despite the organisers ensuring some low scoring rounds with a far friendlier set of tee positions, another poor start left McIlroy two-over by the seventh, while Woods produced three birdies to keep his own hopes of a semi-final berth alive.

McIlroy recovered to finish on one-under but Woods was never in danger, ending his round seven below par to book a semi-final showdown with Justin Rose.

Both Rose and Lee Westwood reached the knockout stages with comprehensive victories in their final round robin matches in Group B. Rose produced the round of the day, a nine-under 62, to see off Webb Simpson whose challenge faded after a missed putt from two feet at the 13th.

Westwood raced out to an early lead after shooting 28 on the front nine but was briefly pegged back after a three-shot swing at the 11th gave Hunter Mahan hope. The Englishman rallied to finish on seven-under, five shots clear of the American, guaranteeing himself a place in the semi-finals, where he will face Charl Schwartzel whose eight-under round beat Matt Kuchar by two shots to complete his clean sweep of Group A.

Group A
Rory McIlroy -1 lost to Tiger Woods -7
Charl Schwartzel -8 beat Matt Kuchar -6

Group B
Justin Rose -9 beat Webb Simpson -4
Lee Westwood -7 beat Hunter Mahan -2

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