Golf: Rory McIlroy wins Players Championship

Rory McIlroy has survived a dramatic final round to win the $US12.5 million ($NZ18.6m) Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass.

Former world number one McIlroy bounced back from an early double-bogey to post a two-under-par 70 and, at 16 under, won by one shot from Jim Furyk (67), with Eddie Pepperell (66) and Jhonattan Vegas (66) sharing third at 14 under.

The 29-year-old McIlroy collected a $US2.25 million ($NZ3.3m) payday for his TPC Sawgrass victory, while recording his 15th win on the PGA Tour, which includes four Major championships.

With a chance to complete golf's career grand slam at the Masters, four-time Major winner McIlroy knows the hype will be furious during the next three weeks.

Having heard negative comments about finishing in the top six in his past five US PGA Tour events without winning, McIlroy says he is prepared for the "noise".

"I feel like I've managed the first six tournaments of the year very well, even with some noise around me, whether it is, 'He can't close, he can't play on Sundays', blah, blah," he said.

"But if I go to Augusta with a similar golf game and the attitude I've shown this year, I'll have a great chance."

AAP