2014 Honda Classic results: Rory McIlroy gives it away, Russell Henley takes it in playoff

A wild Honda Classic final round that included an implosion, injury, and withdrawal by Tiger Woods finished late Sunday night with four players -- Rory McIlroy, Ryan Palmer, Russell Henley, and Russell Knox -- barely hanging on through some atrocious play to get to a playoff. In the end, it was Henley who emerged and took advantage of all the bad shots around him, drilling a short birdie putt on the first playoff hole for his second win in as many seasons on Tour.

The PGA Tour’s longtime ad campaign trumpets the slogan, “These guys are good,” but the final two hours of the Honda Classic on Sunday were a complete mess. It was entertaining, but probably not in the way the group of five or six players jostling at the top of the leaderboard would prefer. McIlroy, who seemed destined for a Sunday cruise and the wire-to-wire win, gagged it away on an ugly back nine 38 that featured two bogeys and a double bogey.

McIlroy’s play came out of nowhere after a dominant first three days in the 60s. He was flawless on Thursday, impressive on Friday, and steady on Saturday through several burned edges and near-misses on birdie putts. Sunday’s round started with some loose shots, and then the wheels completely came off over the final 12 holes, which he played in 5-over. Even with that spotty play, Rory still clung to the lead, or a share of the lead until he decided to do the competition one worse with a water ball at No. 16.

That shot led to a double bogey and a tumble down to 8-under. On the next hole, the third and final of the infamous “Bear Trap,” Rory put his tee shot in a back bunker on downslope and could not get up-and-down to save par.

For three days, everyone in the field was chasing McIlroy and then all of a sudden with one hole to go, he was chasing a trio at 8-under and needed to make something happen quickly on the gettable par-5 18th.

And Rory delivered. Despite the previous hour where it looked like McIlroy could not make a swing, needing a birdie or eagle, the young Ultserman plastered a fairway 5-wood from 245 yards up over the water protecting the right half of the green and dropped it right in eagle position.

It was a stunning swing, about the third in an hour for McIlroy. A birdie to pull even was almost a given at that point, but Rory could do away with the need for a playoff by just draining the putt, as Russell Henley flubbed his chance at a birdie and outright win with a poor chip. Given the circumstances and the nervy swings we had seen all afternoon, McIlroy’s approach into 18 was the shot of the week. He missed the eagle putt just on the low side, but tapped in for birdie to jump back into the playoff.

Henley went for his own rollercoaster ride through the final hour, chipping in for the second of two consecutive birdies at No. 14 and then rinsing one in the water on the very next hole to give it right back. It was the second straight day Henley had chipped in at No. 14, and it looked like he would be the top contender for McIlroy until he bombed one well into the middle of the water at the Bear Trap’s 15th hole. He recovered, or rather watched as the field crumbled with him, to get in at 8-under.

The sophomore, who won in his full-time debut at the Sony Open last year, had the advantage on the first playoff hole when he got home safely in two at the par-5 18th. Keeping with the theme of poor play, Henley was the only one who could post a red number after some missed putts and sloppy chips, particularly by McIlroy. And the smooth-putting Georgia Bulldog converted to end it on the first playoff hole, placing his short birdie putt in the center of the cup. With the win, he joins McIlroy, Patrick Reed, and fellow Georgia alum Harris English as the only players under 25 with two PGA Tour wins.

Here’s a look at the final leaderboard from the field that completed 72 holes (Tiger Woods, of course, omitted -- read more on his adventures here):