<p> Britain's Rory McIlroy held off a spectacular final-round charge from Tiger Woods to win the Honda Classic on Sunday and take over as golf's new world number one.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The 22-year-old McIlroy, winner of last year's US Open, replaced Luke Donald at the top of the world rankings after a thrilling victory at the PGA National course.<br />Only Woods, who finished tied for second with Tom Gillis on Sunday, reached number one at an earlier age.<br /><br />McIlroy started the last day with a two-shot lead and finished up winning by the same margin after shooting a final round of one-under-par 69 for a total of 12-under.<br /><br />The Northern Irishman looked to be cruising to victory until Woods charged up the leaderboard with a 62, the lowest final-round score of his career, making an eagle at the last hole to briefly cut the margin to one stroke.<br /><br />But McIlroy, who had bogeyed the 12th, birdied the 13th to restore his two-shot advantage then kept his composure through the tricky 'Bear Trap' trio of holes to win his third PGA title.<br /><br />It was the perfect test of McIlroy's credentials, playing three of the toughest holes on the tour, designed by the watching Jack Nicklaus, with Woods waiting for him to slip-up.<br />“It was tough today, especially seeing Tiger make a charge, seeing him post 10-under,” said McIlroy.<br /><br />“To shoot one-under in these conditions when you go in with the lead....I was just able to get the job done.”<br /><br />Woods, despite just missing out on his first win on the PGA Tour since the BMW Championship in September 2009, was nonetheless delighted with a performance which suggested he can recapture the form which took him to 14 major wins.<br /><br />“I really didn't miss many shots today. It was a good day and I hit a lot of good putts that went in and some that just skirted the edge,” he said.<br /><br />“It could have really been something special today if a few putts would have gone in.<br />“It feels good because I felt like I've been close to shooting this score or scores like this.<br /><br /> It was just a matter of time before things all fell into place,” he said.<br />Gillis, playing in the final group with McIlroy, birdied the final hole for a 69 and a tie for second place at 10-under.<br /><br />Britain's Lee Westwood, who held the number one ranking for 22 weeks in 2010 and 2011, finished outright fourth, two shots back at eight-under, after closing with a 63.<br />South Africa's Charl Schwartzel, last year's Masters champion, tied with Britain's Justin Rose at seven-under.</p>
<p> Britain's Rory McIlroy held off a spectacular final-round charge from Tiger Woods to win the Honda Classic on Sunday and take over as golf's new world number one.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The 22-year-old McIlroy, winner of last year's US Open, replaced Luke Donald at the top of the world rankings after a thrilling victory at the PGA National course.<br />Only Woods, who finished tied for second with Tom Gillis on Sunday, reached number one at an earlier age.<br /><br />McIlroy started the last day with a two-shot lead and finished up winning by the same margin after shooting a final round of one-under-par 69 for a total of 12-under.<br /><br />The Northern Irishman looked to be cruising to victory until Woods charged up the leaderboard with a 62, the lowest final-round score of his career, making an eagle at the last hole to briefly cut the margin to one stroke.<br /><br />But McIlroy, who had bogeyed the 12th, birdied the 13th to restore his two-shot advantage then kept his composure through the tricky 'Bear Trap' trio of holes to win his third PGA title.<br /><br />It was the perfect test of McIlroy's credentials, playing three of the toughest holes on the tour, designed by the watching Jack Nicklaus, with Woods waiting for him to slip-up.<br />“It was tough today, especially seeing Tiger make a charge, seeing him post 10-under,” said McIlroy.<br /><br />“To shoot one-under in these conditions when you go in with the lead....I was just able to get the job done.”<br /><br />Woods, despite just missing out on his first win on the PGA Tour since the BMW Championship in September 2009, was nonetheless delighted with a performance which suggested he can recapture the form which took him to 14 major wins.<br /><br />“I really didn't miss many shots today. It was a good day and I hit a lot of good putts that went in and some that just skirted the edge,” he said.<br /><br />“It could have really been something special today if a few putts would have gone in.<br />“It feels good because I felt like I've been close to shooting this score or scores like this.<br /><br /> It was just a matter of time before things all fell into place,” he said.<br />Gillis, playing in the final group with McIlroy, birdied the final hole for a 69 and a tie for second place at 10-under.<br /><br />Britain's Lee Westwood, who held the number one ranking for 22 weeks in 2010 and 2011, finished outright fourth, two shots back at eight-under, after closing with a 63.<br />South Africa's Charl Schwartzel, last year's Masters champion, tied with Britain's Justin Rose at seven-under.</p>
