By Jeremy Harness

Rory McIlroy has a very detailed and intense workout regimen, and after a prolonged last couple of days, that really paid off for him.

After his quarterfinal match with Paul Casey was suspended due to darkness Saturday night after 20 holes, he had to tee off at 6:45am PST Sunday to finish that match before moving on to the semifinal.

He came back to finally finish off Casey early Sunday morning and had another dramatic comeback in his satchel against Jim Furyk in the semis before holding off long-hitter Gary Woodland, 4-and-2, to claim his first-ever Cadillac Match Play championship at San Francisco’s TPC Harding Park.

“It’s been a great week to play,” McIlroy said. “What is it, seven matches, having to sleep on one as well. Sort of trying to beat three players in one day today.

“I played some great golf this week and got the job done, which was the most important thing, and (it was ) great to get the first win state-side this year.”

Against Woodland in the title match, McIlroy to a four-hole advantage, which he earned on the front nine and carried to the 11th hole while Woodland struggled to find his rhythm.

However, the world’s top player had a pair of slip-ups in the next pair of holes, and Woodland used that as a catalyst to win those two holes and give himself a realistic chance of a comeback. It could have been a tighter match, but after a brilliant bunker shot, Woodland missed a three-footer for par at the 13th after McIlroy was already in for bogey.

After getting that big break, McIlroy tightened things back up and proceeded to turn the lights out on Woodland, who was forced to concede at the 16th after going from one greenside bunker to another.

“The putt on 13 killed me,” Woodland said. “(If) my putt drops on 13, and I get to one down, and it’s a different ballgame. But I missed that one, and he was like a shark, smelled blood, and it was game over quickly.

“Losing sucks.”

Furyk will likely second that, especially after the way he fell to McIlroy in the morning semifinal. He had the Northern Ireland native a hole down going into the 16th hole, which he birdied. McIlroy responded quickly with a birdie and then followed that right up with another birdie to square it up.

McIlroy then made the putt of the tournament, rolling one in from more than 43 feet away for an eagle to take the match in the most dramatic fashion possible.

“I played solid today,” Furyk said. “(But) I tip my hat to him. It was a good match, back and forth. It was just disappointing.”

For Furyk, the disappointment continued into the consolation round, which got an eye-roll from him when asked about the significance of that match after his win over Louis Oosthuizen in the Saturday quarterfinal.

He had been known for coming on strong on the back nine, but he simply ran out of gas against Danny Willett and saw the Englishman take him down, 3 and 2.