2014 WGC Bridgestone Invitational results: Rory McIlroy outduels Sergio Garcia to win again

Sunday at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational must have felt a lot like deja vu for Sergio Garcia. Two weeks after he failed to run down a charging Rory McIlroy at the British Open, Garcia was once again unable to keep pace with McIlroy at Firestone. McIlroy began the round three shots off the lead, only to surge early and finish strong for a second straight win.

McIlroy wasted no time erasing the deficit he opened the round with. Playing in the final group with Garcia, McIlroy birdied the first three holes of the round. With Garcia recording a bogey on No. 3, McIlroy not only erased Garcia’s lead, but pulled ahead of him in three holes. The two battled the rest of the way with McIlroy holding a one- or two-shot lead for much of the round. Like it was at the British Open, McIlroy’s game was sharp tee-to-green. He did an excellent job of avoiding trouble and putting himself in position to make no worse than par. His only bogey of the round came on No. 8 and with Garcia unable to find a birdie on the back nine, McIlroy’s lead proved to be enough.

The win adds another impressive line to McIlroy’s growing list of career accomplishments. Although not a major championship, the Bridgestone Invitational was major-championship caliber with a field of 49 of the top 50 players in the world. That makes two straight events McIlroy has gone against the very best in the world and come out on top in impressive fashion. No one is playing better golf than McIlroy is right now. The win and an eighth-place finish from Adam Scott was enough for McIlroy to jump back to the No. 1 spot in the Official World Golf Rankings.

For Garcia, it’s another event where he was very good, just not good enough to surpass the best player in the world. He nearly matched McIlroy shot-for-shot during the week, just like he did at the British Open. The result, however, is another second-place finish.

It was an eventful final round at Firestone, even beyond the duel between Garcia and McIlroy. A weather delay pushed the finish of the round back more than an hour while Tiger Woods made headlines when he tweaked his surgically repaired back and was forced to withdraw. What this means for Woods next week at the PGA Championship remains to be seen.

Here is a complete look at the final scoreboard: