Rory McIlroy departs Doral feeling disappointed over a tentative week

Before he began his final round Sunday, Rory McIlroy, the No. 1 player on the PGA Tour, was given back his 3-iron. McIlroy smiled as he was handed his club — the same club he flung into the lake Friday after his second shot on the eighth hole — by Donald Trump, the owner of Trump National Doral.

McIlroy smiled, showed the club, which was retrieved by a scuba diver, to the fans near the driving range at the WGC-Cadillac Championship and then put it back in his bag.

"We know Donald," McIlroy said laughing. "He's never one to miss an opportunity. It was fine. It was good fun."

McIlroy finished in ninth place after shooting an even 72 Sunday to be 1-under. And although he said Saturday he did not need the 3-iron for the rest of the tournament, McIlroy, to the surprise of many, used his 3-iron on his third shot on the 18th hole.

The result? Another disappointing swing, and, for the second time on the hole, a splash into the water.

Despite his misjudgment, McIlroy played to the crowd by pretending to throw the club back in the water, which made him and everyone near him laugh. He did save a double bogey by making a chip from 24 feet out of the rough.

"You feel like you make some progress and then, this course, as well, it bites back at you and you give away a couple of shots," he said after saying the 18th hole summarized his week here. "This course can frustrate you, for sure."

McIlroy will spend the next week practicing at Augusta National Golf Club to prepare for the Masters, which start April 9. He is hopeful that a week of practice will help him be ready for the first major of the season.

He said he played conservative most of the time at the Trump National Doral course because it made him feel tentative. Sometimes, he was scared to play certain shots.

"Pretty disappointed with how I played overall," said McIlroy, who said he was not 100 percent this week. "My inability to hit the ball right-to-left isn't something that you want going into Augusta."

During his news conference Sunday, Commissioner Tim Finchem said he understands that anytime McIlroy does anything, it is going to get significant attention from fans and the media.

"I thought it sounded like a player who had lost his temper and threw a club, which happens," said Finchem, who acknowledged that he did not see McIlroy throw his club live. "Having seen the clip and seen his commentary, it seems like maybe he actually thought about it a little bit, like maybe it was more premeditated. As Rory himself said, it's not the right thing to do on the golf course, so I'm glad that he recognized that."

Snedeker a Master's dark horse

Brandt Snedeker, who has five top-10 finishes this season, had another solid performance at the WGC-Cadillac Championship. Snedeker, who shot an even 72 Sunday to finish 1-over, made 14 birdies during the week.

"I feel pretty sharp," said Snedeker, who will play in the Valspar Championship and the Arnold Palmer Invitational the next two weeks. "I just didn't have it this week."

Snedeker won the AT&T Pebble Beach National in February by three strokes over Nick Watney. Among Americans, Snedeker could be a dark horse to win the Masters. In 2008, he finished third at Augusta. He also placed sixth in 2013.

"All that talk is great," said Snedeker, who was the 2007 PGA Tour rookie of the year. "Knowing the course does help. It's such a fine line that you've got be sharp. I'm playing good and I'm doing the right stuff, so I'm excited about what Augusta holds for me this year. I seem to have a great week every time I show up there. I've played with two winners before on Sunday, so I know what it takes to win."

Finchem says PGA Tour misses Woods

Finchem, as it is with most of his news conferences, was asked to summarize how the PGA Tour is doing this season without its most attractive player, Tiger Woods.

The last time Woods participated in an event was in early February at the Farmers Insurance Open, which he withdrew from after 11 holes because of tightness in his lower back. A week earlier at the waste Management Phoenix Open, he did not make the cut after a second round, career-worst 82.

Since then, Woods has taken a leave of absence and has not announced when he will return. Finchem used the analogy that any time Woods does not play for a decent amount of time is like the period when Michael Jordan stepped away from the NBA to play baseball.

"The PGA Tour is going to be fine," Finchem said. "But when you lose your No. 1 player, in a time when he's still in an age where he can really play if he can get back to that level, it's not going to let you perform at the same level as you would with him."

This article was written by Nate Taylor from Sun Sentinel and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.