 |
| Getty Images |
Rory McIlroy beat Tiger Woods by one shot in an 18-hole exhibition event in Haikou, China, to claim victory in the event for the second year in succession.
Woods had an opportunity to tie the match at the final hole but failed in a 20-foot eagle attempt to hand McIlroy the victory.
While the tournament is meaningless in all, bar the considerable appearance money on offer to both players, victory will come as some relief to the 24-year-old former world No. 1 after his recent travails.
Despite the relatively relaxed nature of the event, he will be delighted with his form.
McIlroy struck eight birdies to Tiger's seven, while a double bogey at the fifth was cancelled out by two dropped shots from his opponent over the course of the round.
The Northern Irishman has spent the last few weeks in Asia, playing tournaments in Seoul and Shanghai, but he has been unable to come close to ending his long title drought.
The event in Hainan province was expected to earn McIlroy close to £1 million, per The Telegraph, with Woods earning well in excess of that figure as China continues to flex its financial muscle to attract major sporting stars and events to the country.
A relative non-event on the international golf calendar, the day was given major billing by the Chinese media.
Besides the round, the golfers were also involved in a skills demonstration with young Chinese prodigy Guan Tianlang, who, at age 14, played the Masters at Augusta last year.
McIlroy said afterwards: "I've seen a lot of promising signs over the past few weeks in practice and also in competitive play.
"I still have four tournaments left until the end of the season and I would love to finish 2013 strongly and get a little bit of momentum going into next season. But I think as I showed out there, I'm hitting the ball well."
