On a Sunday of endless drama, Justin Rose won his first World Golf Championship standing on the practice range.
Rose was steady down the stretch, even with a bogey on the 18th hole, and closed with a 2-under-par 70 to win the Cadillac Championship in Doral, Fla. He had to make up a three-shot deficit against Bubba Watson and a two-shot deficit against Keegan Bradley.
Watson made it interesting, hitting a 4-iron out of the palm trees to inside 10 feet for a chance to force a playoff. His birdie putt missed, ending a wild day with a 74.
If that wasn’t enough, Tiger Woods muddied his Masters future when he left after 11 holes with soreness in his left Achilles tendon, wincing badly on his final shot — a 321-yard drive down the middle of the 12th fairway. Woods said he would have it evaluated to determine the scope of the injury.
Rory McIlroy, who started the final round eight shots behind, holed a bunker shot for eagle on the 12th hole. He pulled within one shot of the lead with a birdie on the 16th hole, but he closed with a bogey and a 67 to finish alone in third.
Through it all, Rose worked his way to the top of the leaderboard and finished at 16-under 272 for his 10th victory.
“I’ve been very focused on seeing this whole Florida swing as like a body of work, and not really trying to put too much focus on any individual tournament,” Rose said. “For this little beauty to show up on my mantle place so early in the season, definitely a fantastic feeling. It sets up a very exciting year.”
