Rory McIlroy is up, down at Honda Classic

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — The good? Rory McIlroy won the 2012 Honda Classic in a thrilling back-nine duel with Tiger Woods and Tom Gillis, and two years later lost in a playoff to Russell Henley.

The bad? McIlroy missed the cut in the Honda last year.

The ugly? As the defending champion in 2013, and already 7-over par, he suddenly withdrew midway through his round on Friday because of a sore wisdom tooth.

McIlroy, who with a victory this week can join Woods and Jack Nicklaus as the only players in the modern era with at least 12 PGA Tour wins before their 27th birthdays, doesn’t exactly have a love-hate relationship with the tournament. But his game, like the ever-changing winds that sweep across the Champion Course, can change quickly here.

“It’s the nature of me,” McIlroy said Wednesday with a smile of his up-and-down ways in the Honda Classic.

It’s the nature of the course, too, the world No. 3 added. The Jack Nicklaus redesign is always at the mercy of the winds, which if they are hitting 15 mph and above, make the already tight course with plenty of water hazards and difficult greens even tighter and tougher.

“It’s one of these golf courses that if you’re slightly off, it can really magnify your misses a little bit, and it can make you feel as if you’re playing worse than what you actually are,” McIlroy said. “I feel if you’re in control of your golf game, it’s one of these courses that you can play well at and you can give yourself plenty of opportunities, and it’s not like you need to go crazy low here to be in contention.

“It’s a tough golf course, and with some of the tough conditions we can get here, it is one of the more challenging venues that we play every year.”

All in all, McIlroy, who lives within 10 minutes of the course, counts the Honda among his favorite tournaments. As forgettable as he’d like his walk-off in 2013 to be, and for the most part, McIlroy and the golf community quickly moved on from that moment, his victory in 2012 remains one of his fondest memories. Not only did he hold off Woods and Gillis, he ascended to No. 1 in the world for the first time.

“I didn’t think about anything else but winning because that’s what I wanted to achieve; getting to world No. 1 was a byproduct of winning the tournament,” McIlroy said. “But I was so focused on that that I didn’t think about anything else. Mentally, I was prepared to win and that’s what I was going to do.

“It was probably one of my better Sunday performances coming down the stretch with a few guys putting pressure on me. There’s a few moments in my career that I feel like to this point I’ll always remember, and getting to No. 1 for the first time here I’ll certainly remember.”

McIlroy, who with four majors is just a Masters title away from completing the career Grand Slam, likes the state of his game. While he has an eye on the Masters, his mind is solely on winning tournaments heading to Augusta National. He’ll play this week and then three more events before the Masters.

He said he’s seen progress this year. In three events, he’s finished in ties for third and sixth, and last week he tied for the lead in the final round with an eagle on the first hole. But he then tumbled to a tie for 20th. He spent a day getting over his poor final round.

“I didn’t think about it too much,” McIlroy said. “I know my game is in good shape and it’s there, and I hope to get into contention again this week.”

Rory McIlroy returns to scene of highest, lowest career moments

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — The weather on Wednesday at PGA National, the site of this week’s Honda Classic, began with sunny skies and docile winds. By midday, clouds engulfed the massive resort property and the wind freshened. And by late afternoon, thunderstorms with tornado warnings rattled the area with high winds and heavy rain.

Rory McIlroy’s performance in seven career starts at the Honda Classic, which begins Thursday, mirrors the turbulent twists and turns in Wednesday’s weather in that it can be best described as volatile.

McIlroy experienced a coming-of-age moment in 2012 when he won the tournament and elevated to No. 1 in the world for the first time, staving off a furious final-round 62 by Tiger Woods along the way.

A year later, while defending his title and No. 1 world ranking, McIlroy authored an embarrassing act-your-age moment.

Frustrated with his struggling game — 7-over par on his first eight holes — he quit on the ninth hole of his second round, marched directly to his car and drove off after telling the couple of reporters who tailed him to the parking lot: “There’s not really much I can say, guys. I’m not in a good place mentally, you know?’’

An hour later, his publicist issued a statement claiming that McIlroy quit because of a toothache.

McIlroy quit that day because he was embarrassed by his play and was having trouble figuring out how to his hit new Nike golf clubs, which he had switched to for millions of dollars after ascending to No. 1.

The following year, in 2014, McIlroy had another forgettable Honda Classic, losing in a playoff after holding the 54-hole lead with a final-round 74 that was marred by a double bogey on 16 and a bogey on 17.

Last year, he missed the cut by three shots.

What could be in store this week for McIlroy at his love-hate venue, which is located a mere 10-minute drive from his Palm Beach Gardens home?

McIlroy, ranked No. 3 in the world, is seeking his first win of the season. He was in position last week at the Northern Trust Open at Riviera, where he eagled the first hole of the final round only to tumble from contention with a sloppy 75.

When he was asked a softball question on Wednesday about his “ups and downs’’ in the Honda Classic and whether it’s “the nature’’ of the “tough course’’ or the “wind,” McIlroy delivered the perfect response when he said with a laugh: “I think it’s the nature of me.’’

Indeed, unlike the steady, consistent relentlessness of Woods when he was in the throes of his dominance, McIlroy has a little Phil Mickelson in him — when he’s on he’s better than anyone else in the world, and when he’s off, he can look like a weekend 20-handicapper at the local muni.

“You always want to win,’’ McIlroy said. “Progress is winning and seeing how you perform under pressure. But at the same time, progress is how you’re feeling with your game, if you feel like you can see improvements. I guess for me at the minute, progress is results-based, because I feel like I’m playing well. I feel like my game is in good shape. So it’s going out there and doing it when it matters.’’

McIlroy will be trying to channel his 2012 self this week, win again and chase that No. 1 ranking that’s owned by Jordan Spieth, who turned professional at age 19 when McIlroy seized No. 1 for the first time.

“When I won here in 2012, all the talk for me was trying to get to No. 1 in the world,’’ McIlroy said. “It was a week for me [when] I didn’t think about anything else but winning, because that’s what I wanted to achieve. Getting to world No. 1 was a byproduct of winning the tournament, but I was so focused on that that I didn’t think about anything else. Mentally, I was prepared to win and that’s what I was going to do.

“It was probably one of my better Sunday performances coming down the stretch with a few guys [namely Woods, his boyhood idol whom he stared down for the first time] putting pressure on me. There’s a few moments in my career that I feel like to this point, I’ll always remember and getting to No. 1 for the first time here I’ll certainly remember.’’