PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. -- Rory McIlroy is 18 holes away fr

zhanjiao1212 · Movie_Lover Geregistreerd op: 23 Mrt 2019 Berichten: 154

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. -- Rory McIlroy is 18 holes away from his first PGA Tour victory in 18 months, a chance to show the world he is back on his game. Thats not the way McIlroy views the final round at the Honda Classic. McIlroy started strong, avoided a big number with a brilliant bogey in the middle and took on the wind and water on the 16th hole for one final birdie Saturday that gave him a 1-under 69 in the toughest conditions and a two-shot lead over Russell Henley at PGA National. The 24-year-old from Northern Ireland has come to expect this kind of performance. He finished one shot behind in Abu Dhabi. He played in the final group in Dubai, where nothing went well in the final round. And here is again, making key shots and big putt to keep his nose in front in the Honda Classic. "Ive been building and building toward getting my game to a level where I feel it should be," he said. "And Im pretty much at that point now." Saturday wasnt easy. McIlroy might have saved his day with a bogey on the par-3 seventh. He took a penalty drop from under a palmetto bush, and faced a shot off the pine straw across 20 yards of rough to an elevated green with the pin toward the back right. The shot came off perfectly, and he holed the 8-foot putt for bogey. "It was one of the best up-and-downs Ive ever had, I guess," McIlroy said. "And it was almost like a momentum builder. I just bogeyed the last, but walking off that seventh green with a bogey almost felt like I had saved par or I had almost gained a shot on the field. It kept any momentum that I had going to the next few holes." He closed out his round with a 5-iron into the wind to 10 feet of the flag on the 16th for a birdie, and then narrowly missed two birdie chances on the closing holes. McIlroy was at 12-under 198. Asked about the importance of winning on a major tour for the first time since the World Tour Championship in Dubai at the end of 2012, and the first time since the BMW Championship at Crooked Stick in 2012 on the PGA Tour, Boy Wonder grappled for the right answer. "It would be nice. It would be my seventh PGA Tour win," he said. "Thats what it is. No bigger, no smaller. And Ill go home and have a nice night and get up the next morning and go play the Seminole Pro-Member. So its all good." He also knows its not over. Henley wasnt doing anything special until he holed out from 150 yards for eagle on No. 14, and then rammed in a 50-foot birdie putt from just off the green at the 17th for birdie that gave him a 68 and put him in the last group for the first time since he won the Sony Open last year. Thats the only time Henley has won -- in his debut as a PGA Tour member -- and he hasnt been in this situation since then. Henley has only two top 10s since that win down from Waikiki Beach at the start of 2012. Now he has to chase one of golfs biggest stars, on a course where only one players -- Ernie Els in 2008 -- has come from behind on the final day to win. "Im trying not to pay attention to what Rory is doing," Henley said. "Obviously, hes playing great and hes been in this situation a little bit more than me. But I still have a lot of confidence and Im just going to try to play my game and not worry about what hes doing too much." Russell Knox of Scotland had a 68 and was three shots behind, while Jhonattan Vegas of Venezuela had a 66 and was another shot back. David Hearn (70) of Brantford, Ont., was tied for 35th at 3 under. Tiger Woods is still in the game, but just barely. Woods matched the low round of the day. He was among five players who shot 65, all before the leaders teed off and the wind kicked into gear, but it was enough to move the No. 1 player 49 spots up the leaderboard and into a tie for 17th. Even so, he was seven shots behind. Woods has never won a PGA Tour event when trailing by more than five shots entering the last round. "Today was a positive day," Woods said after his lowest score in 10 rounds this year. "Hit the ball well and made some putts and got myself back in the hunt." It doesnt figure to be easy for Woods or anyone to track down McIlroy, who has converted the 54-hole lead in his last four PGA Tour wins dating to the 2011 Masters, where he blew a four-shot lead. That streak includes the Honda Classic two years, which he won to rise to No. 1 in the world for the first time. "Definitely not a coincidence," McIlroy said. "I learned a lot that day. I learned not to protect a 54-hole lead. I should have just stuck to the game plan, stuck to my process, not look at the leaderboard, not look at what other people are doing. ... And thats the reason that every 54-hole lead that Ive had since, Ive been able to close the deal. Hopefully, I can keep that run going tomorrow." It would be a remarkable turnaround for McIlroy, who a year ago was so frustrated with his game and high expectations that he walked off the course after 26 holes, a mistake he vowed to never repeat. "Theres still 18 holes to go," he said. "But Im feeling comfortable with where I am." Wholesale Vikings Jerseys .com) - World No. 1 Rafael Nadal, Wimbledon champion Andy Murray and four-time Australian Open titlist Roger Federer were among Mondays fourth-round winners at Melbourne Park. Cheap Vikings Jerseys . -- The way Ted Ligety carved into turns looked so easy. http://www.cheapvikingsjerseysauthentic.com/ . In the days leading up to the draft, TSN.ca and TSN Radio basketball analyst Duane Watson looks at some of the names that will be headlining the event. Watch the 2014 NBA Draft on TSN, Thursday at 7pm et/4pm pt. PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil -- Argentina beat Nigeria 3-2 in their last World Cup group match on Wednesday, with Lionel Messi and Ahmed Musa scoring two goals each before Marcos Rojo kneed in the winner. Argentina won Group F while Nigeria also advanced despite the loss, becoming the first African team in the round of 16 in Brazil. Messi had his best match of the World Cup so far, scoring twice in the first half to boost his tournament total to four goals, and repeatedly cutting up Nigerias defence with dazzling runs and clever passes. "We played against a team that wanted to play," Messi said. "I think we saw a good Argentina. We need to continue on this path." The Argentina captain needed less than three minutes to finish Nigeria goalkeeper Vincent Enyeamas clean sheet in Brazil, slamming in the rebound after Angel Di Marias shot bounced off the post. Nigeria replied within a minute as Musa cut in from the left and beat Sergio Romero with a curling shot toward the far post. Nearing halftime Messi tested Enyeama with a 25-meter free kick that the goalkeeper struggled to push to a corner. Having found his aim, Messi was ice cold when Nigeria gave up another free kick just moments later from a slightly shorter distance. This time Enyeama was stunned as the ball hooked over the wall and slipped in just inside the post. "Messi is one of heck of a player, hes blessed. You cant take it away from him," Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi said. "Messi is from Jupiter, he is different." The second half started at the same furious pace as the first, with two goals within the first five minutes. First Musa took advantage of confusion in the Argentine defence to score his second. Then Rojo made it 3-2 as he got his right knee on a corner kick three minutes later. Both teams continued to chase more goals but the intensity dropped off someewhat as Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella substituted Messi after the hour-mark.dddddddddddd The Barcelona wizard enjoyed the space he was given by Nigeria, which surged forward rather than locking down in defence like Bosnia-Herzegovina and Iran did against Argentina. He has scored in each of the teams three matches. Finding more space to attack, Argentina created more chances than in its previous games, but its defence caved in on both of Musas goals. Another concern for Argentina: Striker Sergio Aguero was injured in the first half, and replaced by Ezequiel Lavezzi. "I think we had a lot of chances, and could have scored a few more goals," Sabella said. Tens of thousands of Argentine fans had travelled to Porto Alegre for the match, taunting Brazilian spectators by singing "Maradona is greater than Pele" at the 44,000-capacity Beira-Rio Stadium. The Brazilians booed and held up five fingers to remind the Argentines of how many World Cups theyve won. Argentina has two. Meanwhile, tragedy struck in Nigeria before the match, as an explosion rocked a shopping mall in the capital, Abuja, and police said at least 21 people were killed. The blast came as Nigerians were preparing to watch the World Cup match. Many shops at the mall have TV screens but it was unclear if the explosion was timed to coincide with the match, which started an hour later. ------ Nigeria: Vincent Enyeama; Efe Ambrose, Kenneth Omeruo, Joseph Yobo, Juwon Oshaniwa; Ahmed Musa, Ogenyi Onazi, John Obi Mikel, Michael Babatunde (Okechukwu Uchebo, 66); Peter Odemwingie (Uche Nwofor, 80), Emmanuel Emenike. Argentina: Sergio Romero; Pablo Zabaleta, Federico Fernandez, Ezequiel Garay, Marcos Rojo; Fernando Gago, Javier Mascherano, Angel Di Maria; Lionel Messi (Ricardo Alvarez, 63), Gonzalo Higuain (Lucas Biglia, 91), Sergio Aguero (Ezequiel Lavezzi, 3 Cool

. ' ' '