Rory McIlroy admitted a club gamble didn't pay off at the Arnold Palmer Invitational but hopes the lessons learned will serve him well at next month's Masters.
McIlroy, seven shots back at the start of the final day, failed to mount a challenge at Bay Hill as a disappointing 72 left him tied 15th, eight shots off the winner Russell Henley. Shane Lowry ended seventh on six-under after a final-day 70.
"I tried new woods for the first three days, didn't quite work out the way I wanted it to, so I went back to my old stuff (on Sunday)," said McIlroy.
"(On Saturday), I lost strokes off the tee, which is the first time I've done that in a long time. So I just went back to what was familiar and what's comfortable. I felt like I was just scrambling all weekend, just trying to save par and pick up the odd birdie here and there."
The Masters begins at Augusta on 10 April. It will be McIlroy's 17th crack at the major as he goes again in his quest to win it and achieve a career Grand Slam.
"I think it's just going to be a little bit different this year, just with there's some areas of the course that are maybe a little thinner tree-wise, just with the hurricane that rolled through," he said of Augusta.
"Sixteen is a new green. So, yeah, I'll probably go up there once or twice beforehand."
Meanwhile Henley toasted the biggest title of his career.
He produced a remarkable turnaround down the stretch to beat two-time major champion Collin Morikawa by one shot at Bay Hill.
The 35-year-old from Georgia was three shots behind playing partner Morikawa standing on the 14th tee.
But there would be a two-shot swing at the short par three, and Henley then chipped in from the rough at 16 for eagle to snatch the lead.
"Hats off to Collin, he played great, super-steady, but sometimes golf is just mean like that," Henley told CBS after a two-under-par 70 proved enough to land him a fifth PGA Tour victory.
"I was so nervous, so unbelievably nervous. Look, I can't breathe right now. It’s so hard and so difficult around this place.
"I got a good break there (on 16), I holed another one there yesterday on the first hole from the bunker and had a couple of hole-outs off the green this week.
"I just tried to stay really tough. I’ve watched Tiger (Woods) make a lot of putts on this green. I’ve watched Rory (McIlroy), Fran (Francesco Molinari) and Bryson (DeChambeau) make winning putts here, and it’s cool to know I did it too."
Morikawa finished with a 72, with Canada’s Corey Connors a shot further back in third and Michael Kim fourth.
Keegan Bradley’s final-day 64 earned him a tie for fifth with Austrian Sepp Straka, with the United States Ryder Cup captain becoming the first player to shoot 29 on nine holes at Bay Hill.
Justin Rose was tied eighth and Tommy Fleetwood, Robert McIntyre, Aaron Rai and Scottie Scheffler finished in a share of 11th.
