In an event which ended up being former world number one Rory McIlroy’s to lose, Russell Henley claimed his second PGA Tour victory in 14 months by winning the Honda Classic in a four-man sudden death playoff.  McIlroy looked in command after an opening round 63 and remained atop the leaderboard both Friday and Saturday with middle rounds of 66-69.  But during a final round which saw stiffer winds and higher scores, McIlroy struggled to a 74, his hopes nearly buried by a double-bogey at the 16th and a bogey at the par-3 17th.  Still, he ripped his second to within 12 feet at the par-5 18th and thus had an eagle putt to win – which he missed.  Henley’s game, meanwhile, was a microcosm of Sunday’s wild final nine leaderboard, as he birdied the 13th and 14th (the latter by chipping in), then double-bogeyed the 15th to fall back to the magic number of eight under par.  Already in the clubhouse at that figure was Ryan Palmer, who was the only player in the final six groups to break par (and then just barely, with a 69) – though Palmer might well have won it outright had he not missed a spate of shorter putts down the stretch.  Also in the playoff was Scotland’s Russell Knox, who’d gotten it to 10 under par before recording a double-bogey of his own, at the par-4 14th.  The playoff itself was brief, as Henley reached the 18th in two and, with two putts from 40 feet, recorded the only birdie and the victory.  Also notable was the departure of Tiger Woods, who barely made the cut, shot a Saturday 65, the withdrew with back pain after 13 holes on Sunday, standing five over par for the day………………Former Ryder Cup player Ross Fisher enjoyed a hot week on the greens at the second playing of the Tshwane Open and parlayed it into his fifth career European Tour victory, but his first since 2010.  Fisher’s early rounds of 66-65-67 staked him to an imposing five-stroke lead over the Copperleaf course which, at 7,964 altitude-ehanced yards, was the longest in E Tour history.  But on a Sunday dotted with intermittent rain, he had trouble keeping his momentum up, playing the outward half in one-under-par 35.  This allowed playing partner Michael Hoey to charge into the mix, and as Hoey stood five under par through his first 11 holes, he’d actually pulled to within one.  But Hoey double-bogeyed the 12th, leaving Fisher’s primary late challengers to be homestanding Danie Van Tonder (who made his move with late birdies at the 16th and 17th en route to a closing 66) and 2013 Q School medalist Carlos Del Moral, who would have matched that number had he not bogeyed both the 14th and 17th.  But as both men crept within two in the late going, Fisher responded by holing a 30-foot eagle putt at the par-5 15th, essentially salting away the title………………As a 22-year-old prospect, India’s Rashid Khan lost the 2013 SAIL-SBI Open in a playoff with Anirban Lahiri, coming within a whisker of claiming his maiden Asian Tour title over his home course, the Delhi Golf Club.  One year later he returned to the same event and, in a storybook finish, emerged triumphant, beating Siddikur Rahman on the first hole of sudden death.  Khan began his week in style with a dazzling first round 61 before rounds of 69-69 pushed him to a two-stroke 54-hole lead.  But facing the stifling pressure of playing before a home crowd, Khan stood one over par through 16 holes of the Saturday finale, and thus trailed the charging Siddikur by one.  He then got a potential career-altering break when his missed approach to the par-4 17th skipped over a frontal bunker to within tap-in birdie range, then matched Siddikur’s birdie at the par-5 18th before birdieing the 18th once more to claim the playoff.