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• Rory McIlroy clinches first WGC-Cadillac Match Play title
• Beats Casey, Furyk and Woodland on Sunday to win
• McIlroy: “I played some great golf and got the job done”

RORY MCILROY

World No.1 Rory McIlroy clinched his tenth PGA Tour title at the WGC-Cadillac Match Play, seeing off big hitting Gary Woodland in the final.

The Northern Irishman, who is 26 today, secured a 4&2 victory and was never behind in his match against the American, where he was helped by four consecutive hole wins on the front nine.

All-square through the first three holes, Rory McIlroy surged ahead with birdies on the fifth, sixth and seventh, coming after a par was enough to win the fourth.

The margin remained the same at the turn and although Woodland reduced the deficit to 2UP after hole wins on the 11th and 13th, McIlroy responded in impressive fashion to take the 14th before his opponent conceded on the 16th.

“I played some great golf and got the job done, which was the most important thing” – Rory McIlroy

“It’s been a great week to play,” said Rory McIlroy. “Matchplay is a format that I’ve always enjoyed and I feel it’s a format I do well and excel in.

“Sometimes finals might not have the quality of some of the previous rounds, whether that’s to do with a little bit of fatigue kicking in or maybe just the occasion, so I felt like Gary and I didn’t get off to the best of starts. There was a bit of an ebb and flow in the match, but thankfully I was on the better side of it at the end.

“I played some great golf and got the job done, which was the most important thing. It’s great to get the first win stateside this year, and move on to next week and try to do the same thing.”

World Golf Championships-Cadillac Match Play - Championship

Rory McIlroy had seen off Paul Casey in the quarter-finals after 22 holes earlier in the day after their match on Saturday was curtailed due to darkness, before he dug deep with birdies on the final three holes to defeat Jim Furyk in the semi-final.

Woodland, meanwhile, had beaten Danny Willett – who beat Furyk in the third place play-off – in the other semi-final 3&2 but admitted that the world No.1 was just too strong in the final.

“It sucks to lose,” Woodland said. “I got off to a rough start. I think it was the adrenaline, I was pretty pumped up to play.

“I really like Rory and I don’t know if there’s a nicer guy out here” – Gary Woodland

“The putt on 13 killed me because I had momentum, had a chance there to get it to one down with three or four to go, put more pressure on him. And missing that putt, that was the end of the match.

“I really like Rory and I don’t know if there’s a nicer guy out here. But you can tell, when I missed the putt on 13, he definitely flipped another switch. He didn’t miss a shot coming in after that.”

The win at TPC Harding Park was McIlroy’s second WGC title and further strengthens his hold on that world No.1 spot.

Rory McIlroy wins the WGC-Cadillac Match Play :: Your thoughts

Can Rory McIlroy make it two wins in as many weeks at the Players Championship this week? Leave your thoughts in the ‘Comments’ section below.

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