( CNN ) -- Despite a miracle shot to join a four-man playoff , Rory McIlroy ultimately was left to rue his failure to negotiate the notorious Bear Trap at PGA National as Russell Henley claimed the Honda Classic title Sunday . Looking to lead from start to finish , McIlroy endured a wayward final round 74 but after brilliantly scrambling a par three on the 15th still held the lead at 10-under-par . An ugly double bogey at the 16th after he found the water and a bogey four on the par-3 17th then all but ended his chances . The former world number one appeared to need an eagle three on the par-5 to rekindle his victory hopes and from 245 yards hit an approach of laser-like accuracy over the water and to within 10 feet of the flag . Playing partner Henley fluffed his chance to make a birdie four to get to nine under and McIlroy saw his eagle putt slide agonizingly wide . It left the pair tied at eight-under 272 with earlier finishers Russel Knox of Scotland and American Ryan Palmer , who had missed a short par putt on the 18th , which would have given him outright victory . Four-man playoff . Playing the 18th again as the first extra hole , McIlroy attempted to repeat his earlier approach shot but his effort went long and into the back bunker . He failed to get down in two shots and with Knox and Palmer also having to settle for par fives , it left Henley a short putt to seal his second PGA Tour victory with a birdie four . McIlroy , searching for his first win of the year after near misses in Abu Dhabi and Dubai , held a two-shot lead over Henley after starting the day on 12-under . Wayward play saw shots dribble away before he hit the three-hole Bear Trap from 15th to the 17th , designed by golf legend Jack Nicklaus . Henley , who had chipped in to join McIlroy at 10-under on the 14th , made a hash of the short 15th himself , finding the water with his tee shot to make a double bogey . But he kept his nerve the better in the final analysis to land the $ 6 million PGA Tour event . `` I was fortunate that I was in the playoff , '' McIlroy said . `` I did n't play well enough at all down the stretch to win this tournament . '' `` It 's going to take a long time for this to sink in , '' admitted Henley . Woods injury scare . Earlier , world number one Tiger Woods was forced to withdraw during the final round with a back injury . Woods , who has endured a difficult start to the year , shot a third round 65 , but was five-over through 13 holes when he left the course . Woods is scheduled to begin his defense of the WGC Cadillac Championship Thursday and it is only six weeks to the first major of the season at Augusta . A statement released by Woods said that his back had spasmed while warming up Sunday , similar to the problem he suffered at The Barclays last year , but was still able to finish runner-up .
Russell Henley wins four-man playoff for Honda Classic . Birdies first extra hole at PGA National in Florida . The U.S. Open is the last major of the year and will be played on a course that has been redesigned to make it more difficult to play from tee boxes with steep fairways.