He said he knew if he could play the last five holes even or better, it would clinch the title. It was definitely made more special by beating Woods. I knew what I needed to do,” he said after his victory. “There was no uncertainty, okay, maybe he can do this or he can dothat. There was 10‑under in the clubhouse, so I knew what I needed to do to win.”At the Cognizant, the new title sponsor for the West Palm Beach event, McIlroy reminisced a little bit about that time in his life. He had rented a house in Florida, but he didn’t own one then. Now, he’s married, owns a mansion in the Bear’s Club development, and he and his wife have a daughter, Poppy. And he definitely remembers how he played the final holes on the way to victory.
“I remember Tiger making that charge on the Sunday and then sort of having to hold on the last five holes,” he said at the Cognizant pre-tournament press conference. “I made two really good ups and downs on 15 and 17. And, yeah, no, it was a really cool moment. I can’t believe it’s 12 years ago, but here we are.”
In fact, the Honda Classic in 2012 was just McIlroy’s third PGA Tour title. He now has 24, four more than he needs to have a lifetime exemption on Tour, never mind the nine additional victories on the DP World Tour. But in 2012, he was just getting started. He would go on that season to win the PGA in August, followed by the Deutsche Bank and the BMW. In addition, he won the DP World Tour Championship in November for the first time.At the time of his Honda victory, he knew that would take him to the No. 1 spot in the world rankings, and it was important to him.
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