American Hunter Mahan spoiled Rory McIlroy's assault on the world No.1 ranking with victory in the final of the WGC Match Play Championship in Tucson, Arizona.
Mahan never trailed and beat McIlroy 2 and 1 to grab the $US1.4 million first prize and climbed to world No.9 in the process.
McIlroy would have taken the world No.1 spot from Luke Donald with a win in the final but never really threatened in an error-marred display.
He had come back from well behind to win his semi-final against Lee Westwood but, despite a mini-comeback, couldn't repeat the heroics against Mahan and was soundly beaten.
Nerves and fatigue appeared to grip both players at times but it was Mahan who dealt with it best.