DORAL, Fla. — Graeme McDowell wasn’t more than five minutes removed from hitting his last Honda Classic shot Sunday afternoon when he made this breathless assessment: “This golf season just got a lot more spicy.’’
Behind McDowell, playing PGA National at that moment, was Tiger Woods, who was flaunting flashes of his old dominant self en route to a sizzling, final-round 62, and Rory McIlroy, who was about an hour away from becoming the No. 1 player in the world with his victory.
“The game of golf,’’ Hunter Mahan said yesterday, “is in a good place.’’
“I think it’s better than it’s ever been,’’ McDowell said. “I’m excited to be part of golf right now. I love the golf the story lines.’’
Indeed, there is a crackling anticipation in the sport that hasn’t been present for a long while and that anticipation leads directly to the first tee of this week’s Cadillac World Golf Championship, which begins tomorrow on Doral’s Blue Monster.
*** Woods, after more than 30 months without a victory, appears poised to win again.
*** McIlroy, while becoming the second youngest player after Woods to elevate to No. 1 in the world, looks like he’s ready to validate the top ranking and stay there for awhile.
***Phil Mickelson, whose career many so-called experts had left for roadkill just a few weeks ago, comes to South Florida having not played since he dusted Woods and the rest of the field at the AT&T National at Pebble Beach last month.
That makes Woods, McIlroy and Mickelson, who yesterday played a practice round at Augusta National with Keegan Bradley and Dustin Johnson, significant favorites to not only win this week but at next month’s Masters, too.
Woods has won four Green Jackets and Mickelson three while McIlroy left his best chance at winning one near the cabins left of the 10th fairway last year.
After the above-mentioned big three, there are other players who could make big moves in the game, including Lee Westwood, who might have shot the most forgotten-about 63 in the history of the sport Sunday at Honda while Woods and McIlroy hogged the spotlight.
Englishman Luke Donald, who rented the No. 1 world ranking for 40 weeks despite not owning a single career major before McIlroy ripped it from his grip on Sunday, curiously opted not to play the Honda despite the fact he has a house in the area and is a past champion of the event.
So while McIlroy was stripping him of his title, Donald went to the gym and then took his daughters to the playground.
He explained yesterday his decision was a “purely schedule’’ related, that he didn’t want to play four weeks in a row. Yet the previous week, he was routed by Ernie Els in the first round of the Accenture Match Play, so Donald he played only 14 holes of competitive golf.
None of that, however, matters to McIlroy, whose confidence is peaking _ something that could be a dangerous thing for his competitors.
McIlroy, who arrived to Doral yesterday afternoon following his New York City visit with girlfriend and world-class tennis star Caroline Wozniacki, sounded refreshed and ready to retain his No. 1 ranking, insisting he feel no added pressure at the top of the mountain.
“If you thrive in the spotlight or if you welcome it,’’ McIlroy said. “I feel like I do thrive in the spotlight, and I like the attention. You know you’re doing something right when you’re in the spotlight. I’d love to keep myself here for a while.’’
mark.cannizzaro@nypost.com