A year ago, Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods sent an electrical charge into the 2012 golf season and in doing so the two sowed the seeds for a personal rivalry for the ages.
McIlroy was en route to winning the Honda Classic and seizing the world's No. 1 ranking. And to get there, he had to overcome Woods, who was in hot pursuit.
McIlroy won the tournament, but he had to stave off a furious final-round 62 by Woods to do it. It was the lowest final-round score of Woods' brilliant career. When it was a over, McIlroy said he felt it fitting and symbolic he had to overcome Woods to get to No. 1.
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HOLE IN HIS GAME: Rory McIlroy, the world's No. 1 ranked golfer, has struggled this year after a switch to new clubs, and has seen his friend and rival Tiger Woods, No. 2 in the world, close the gap between the two in the rankings.
Beginning with Thursday's Honda Classic opening round at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. — a mere 10-minute drive away from their respective homes — McIlroy, who still owns that No. 1 ranking, and Woods, who is No. 2, will go at it again.
Woods tees off at 7:25 a.m with Dustin Johnson and Martin Kaymer, while McIlroy tees off at 12:25 p.m. with Ernie Els and Mark Wilson.
And the world will be watching.
On Sunday, with no one watching but Ahmad Rashad, Woods and McIlroy played a friendly 36 holes with Rashad at Woods' club, the Medalist, in Hobe Sound, Fla. where each won an 18-hole match.
"He moved down here and we figured, 'Let's get a game sometime,' '' Woods said yesterday. "We were kind of hoping it wouldn't be that Sunday, but we were both free, so we went out and played, played a quick 36.
"He's a friend of mine ... and he just happens to be the No. 1 player in the world,'' Woods said of McIlroy.
It's a fascinating dynamic to see Woods, always a cold-blooded killer in golf slacks, so friendly with the player who should be his fiercest rival, because Woods is hell-bent on taking that No. 1 ranking back from McIlroy.
Woods already has a win this year (the Farmers Insurance Classic at Torrey Pines in January) and has closed the gap on McIlroy's hold on the top spot.
McIlroy has not yet hit any stride with his game this year, entering today having played only three competitive tournament rounds, thanks to a missed cut in Abu Dhabi (where Woods also missed the cut) and being eliminated in the first round of the WGC-Accenture Match Play last week in Arizona (where Woods was also bounced in the first round).
So, as much attention as there is on McIlroy to see if he can successfully defend his Honda Classic title, there is as much outside focus on whether he can make a cut for the first time this year.
McIlroy, too, is facing the heavy scrutiny from is ballyhooed equipment change from Titleist, which he used to reach No. 1, to Nike, which is paying him a reported $15 to $20 million per year.
To date — albeit a small sample set because he has not played a lot — McIlroy hasn't looked good swinging the Swoosh logo. Until he does, McIlroy will be faced with questions about his comfort level with the new sticks.
"It's more about how I'm swinging the club,'' McIlroy said. "It's still an adjustment period.''
Interestingly, Woods defended McIlroy, saying, "I think Rory's doing a fantastic job. There are a few guys who have done that [changed equipment] and had lot of success and a few stories of guys who have not done well. Rory is going through [a] process. We talked about it a little bit, and it is a process.''
As for that No. 1 ranking — the elephant in the room — Woods is working his way back with a quiet confidence.
While he was playing the 11th hole in Wednesday's pro-am, a fan said to him, "Tiger, you're going to be No. 1 again. It starts this week.''
Woods turned to the fan and said with a smile, "You got it.''
This, indeed, has potential to be a compelling week. Perhaps, like a year ago, there will be a seismic shift in the game involving McIlroy and Woods.
mark.cannizzaro@nypost.com
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