‘Exhausted’ Rory falls with the world at his feet

Rory McIlroy missed a gilt-edged opportunity to become Ireland’s first world No 1 when he lost to Hunter Mahan in the final of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club on Dove Mountain.

The Holywood hotshot, 22, admitted that he punched himself out mentally in an exhausting 3 and 1 comeback win over rival Lee Westwood in the semi-finals.

And while he staged another last gasp charge in the decider, coming back from four down after 10 holes to take the match to the 17th, 29-year old Mahan claimed a 2 and 1 victory, his second World Golf Championship and a cheque for $1.4m (€1 million).