Rory McIlroy Escapes Elimination at World Golf Championships

Photo Rory McIlroy, right, defeated Billy Horschel on the second hole of sudden death on Friday. Credit Eric Risberg/Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO — The World Golf Championships match-play event was tweaked this year to guard against the early exits of marquee players. The single-elimination format was replaced by round-robin play, which guaranteed that each player in the 64-man field would be around for at least three matches.

So what happened? Eight of the top 10 players in the world — and 11 of the top 16 — did not advance to play a fourth match, on Saturday. The tournament nearly lost its headliner, the world No. 1 Rory McIlroy, who was 2-down with three holes left in his match against…