Rory McIlroy at Tour Championship 2014: Daily Scores and Leaderboard Updates

By his own lofty standards, Rory McIlroy is in a slump. He hasn't won a tournament since the PGA Championship in August, which means it's time to start wondering when he will put an end to this madness. 

The good news is McIlroy's four-week quest to find a championship has led him to the Tour Championship being held at East Lake Golf Course in Atlanta, Georgia. While not part of the PGA Tour's Grand Slam rotation, it is significant for being the final event in the FedEx Cup playoff and final event of the season before the Ryder Cup.     

This is just the second time McIlroy has participated in the Tour Championship, previously finishing 10th in 2012. His stature in the game has certainly grown over that time, but he has a long road ahead of him with 28 of the best players in the world also vying for the title.

Day 4 Recap

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

A blistering first three rounds for McIlroy gave way to a disappointing downfall for the world No. 1 on Sunday.

McIlroy was tied for the lead coming into Sunday, but he unraveled in the final round and was unable to clinch the Tour Championship or FedEx Cup title. All in all, the Northern Irish golfer finished with a one-over 71 to finish tied for second in the tournament.

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	In
Hole	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Out
Par	4	3	4	4	4	3	4	4	5	35
Strokes	4	3	4	3	4	5	4	4	6	37
Total	4E	E	E	-1	-1	1	1	1	2	37
Par	4	3	4	4	4	5	4	4	3	35
Strokes	5	4	4	4	4	4	3	3	3	34
Total	3	4	4	4	4	3	2	1	1	71

Jason Sobel of the Golf Channel described the golfer's day by poking fun at a recent commercial of his:

None of McIlroy's shots found their way into a fan's pocket on Sunday, but he did have one wind up in the water.

The shot came on the sixth hole of the day and set the stage for a rough day from McIlroy with a double bogey. McIlroy's frustrating start was passed along by the PGA Tour:

After going one over on the front nine, McIlroy started the back nine in similar fashion. Two bogies on the first two holes put him further in a hole, with Billy Horschel continuing to put together consistent results.

It wasn't all bad for McIlroy, though, as he finished the round strong with three consecutive birdies on Nos. 15, 16 and 17. The birdie putt on the 16th to move back up the leaderboard was huge for the 25-year-old.

Horschel finished as the top dog on Sunday, but McIlroy still has plenty to look forward to this season. The Ryder Cup is on the horizon, and McIlroy heads a strong contingent of European golfers looking to retain the trophy.

McIlroy spoke about the players that he's happy he won't be seeing for the United States, per Stephanie Wei of Sports Illustrated:

Already the No. 1 player in the world and still on top of his game, Sunday was likely just a hiccup for McIlroy. He will have plenty of weight on his shoulders heading into the Ryder Cup but will need to find consistency to make a huge impact.

Day 3 Recap

Coming off a huge second round that saw McIlroy start Saturday in a tie for second place, the world's best golfer did nothing to make you think that he won't walk away with a victory at the Tour Championship. He didn't reach the dizzying heights of his 65 from Friday, but an efficient day pushed him into a tie for the lead. 

Here's a hole-by-hole look at McIlroy's performance in the third round:

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	In
Par	4	3	4	4	4	3	4	4	5	35
Strokes	3	4	3	4	4	3	4	4	4	33
Total	-7	-6	-7	-7	-7	-7	-7	-7	-8	-2
Hole	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Out
Par	4	3	4	4	4	5	4	4	3	35
Strokes	5	3	4	4	4	3	4	4	3	34
Total	-7	-7	-7	-7	-7	-9	-9	-9	-9	-1

And here's how the leaderboard looks heading into the final round on Sunday:

McIlroy was having a pedestrian round, by his standards, before an eagle on No, 15 put him back in a tie with Billy Horschel at nine-under par, via PGA Tour:

How fitting would it be if the end of this four-tournament FedEx Cup playoff came down to an actual playoff between Horschel and McIlroy, who ranked second and fourth in the FedEx Cup standings coming into the event.

Of course, Jason Sobel of the Golf Channel sarcastically suggests the Tour Championship follow the lead of college football's playoff system if it should come to that:

Despite having the prestige of winning the FedEx Cup and the hefty paycheck that comes with it, McIlroy hasn't sounded like he feels there's any pressure to win this week. After the second round, he told reporters that if he happens to fall short this weekend that it will be okay, via Ewan Murray of The Guardian:

"

I’m the one that’s got the two majors this year. I’m the one that’s had the great season. No matter what happens over the weekend, it’s going to be OK. I just want to finish my season off the way I feel like I should and the way I feel like it deserves. So I’m not putting too much pressure on myself, because it’s already been a great year.

"

You can see that lack of pressure in the way McIlroy has played the last three rounds. He's made mistakes over the last three days, including two bogeys today, but when he absolutely needs to make a shot, it's always there. 

This is also a spot that McIlroy has excelled in the past. Golf Betting Form tweeted out how the 25-year-old has done in his career when in the lead or tied for the lead after 54 holes:

Winning seven of his last eight events with a lead or share of it, you can see why McIlroy wouldn't feel any added pressure. He is going up against a player in Horschel who is on a roll after winning the BMW Championship last week and hitting the ball well this week with just three bogeys through 54 holes. 

Regardless of which player wins on Sunday, the PGA Tour couldn't have asked for a better scenario. It's got the best player on the planet right now, who has won the last two majors and looking for his fourth victory in two months, going against a budding American star at the top of his game. 

Day 2 Recap

It was a great Friday for McIlroy at the Tour Championship. He made a move up the leaderboard with a strong front nine that included three birdies and finished well on the back nine with consecutive birdies on No. 17 and 18 to finish five-under for the day and tied for first when he walked off the course. 

Here's a hole-by-hole look at McIlroy's second round:

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	In
Par	4	3	4	4	4	3	4	4	5	35
Strokes	4	2	4	5	4	2	3	4	5	33
Total	-1	-2	-2	-1	-1	-2	-3	-3	-3	-3
Hole	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Out
Par	4	3	4	4	4	5	4	4	3	35
Strokes	4	3	3	4	4	5	4	3	2	32
Total	-3	-3	-4	-4	-4	-4	-4	-5	-6	-6

Before diving into McIlroy's entire round, he hit a ball on the 14th hole that went into a tree and then fell into a fan's pocket, via PGA Tour's official Twitter:

A lot of trick shots have been made throughout the history of golf, but this sounds like a new one to most people watching. Making it more impressive is that McIlroy was able to save par on the hole despite hitting the ball into a tree and pocket. 

Back to the subject at hand, the biggest change for McIlroy from Thursday to Friday was consistency. He didn't have any in the first round, following his first two birdies with bogeys. The 25-year-old was terrific on the fairway, hitting shots like this one on the fourth hole, via PGA Tour:

You know McIlroy is starting to feel good when he's limiting the mistakes. We have seen him at times this season get careless and fall out of contention. Last week at the BMW Championship, for instance, he four-putted the 12th hole on back-to-back days. 

McIlroy acknowledged his growth as a player after the first round, when he struggled just to shoot 69. He told reporters, via James Corrigan of the UK Telegraph, that the way he battled was good for his confidence heading into Friday:

"I haven’t been firing on all cylinders and will probably need to be," McIlroy said. "But I was happy with that score and the way I hung in there. A few years ago that 69 would have been a 73 or 74."

It shouldn't come as a surprise that McIlroy's surge came in the second round. Justin Ray of the Golf Channel pointed out on Twitter that Day 2 has been kind to the world's best player this season:

When the first round ended, McIlroy trailed the three players he was chasing for the FedEx Cup title (Chris Kirk, Billy Horschel, Bubba Watson). Kirk and Horschel are still at the top, while Watson fell off the table with a bad second round. Now, McIlroy is standing alongside Kirk and Horschel in what is shaping up to be an intense battle for $10 million. 

Day 1 Recap

He wrapped up Round 1 with a one-under-par 69. Here's a look at how McIlroy fared on Thursday:

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	In
Hole	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Out
Par	4	3	4	4	4	3	4	4	5	35
Strokes	4	3	3	5	4	2	5	3	5	35
Total	E	E	-1	E	E	-1	E	-1	-1	34
Par	4	3	4	4	4	5	4	4	3	35
Strokes	4	4	4	4	4	5	4	3	3	35
Total	-1	E	E	E	E	E	E	-1	-1	69

The biggest takeaway from McIlroy's first round is how he was unable to sustain any momentum. His first two birdies were immediately followed by bogeys. Getting under par before the turn seemed like a big moment, but he gave that shot back on No. 11. 

McIlroy had some bad luck right out of the gate, hitting a tree branch on the first hole, per the PGA Tour's official Twitter, but he saved it with a par putt:

Bad luck is not something McIlroy needs this weekend. Winning the FedEx Cup comes with many perks, including a hefty $10 million paycheck. He entered the day in fourth place with 3,735 points, nearly 600 points behind Chris Kirk. 

McIlroy did an interview with BBC Radio 5 earlier in the week, via BBC.com, saying that he's still in a good position to walk away with the title before admitting that the financial gain won't have any impact on the way he plays over the weekend:

"

Being in the top five was important coming in, you know what you need to do. I would have liked to be a bit higher on the list but haven't played well enough over the past few weeks. I don't think the money will make me any more nervous on the golf course on Sunday. But winning the FedEx is one of the only things that I have not achieved in the game of golf and that's the real reason I want to win this week.

"

While he's certainly saying all the right things, McIlroy seems to be out of sorts lately. The opening comment about his slump was sarcastic (if you couldn't tell), but there were moments at the BMW Championship when he looked lost. The most notable was when he four-putted the 12th hole in each of the last two rounds. 

The good news is no one has taken control of the Tour Championship through the first round, leaving the door open for McIlroy to put all the pieces back together and build momentum heading into the weekend. 

Unfortunately for McIlroy, one of the players who was on fire in the first round was Kirk, who had a long birdie on the 17th hole to get a share of the lead, via PGA Tour.com:

Going even deeper into the FedEx Cup standings, Jason Sobel of the Golf Channel provided this tidbit about the Tour Championship leaderboard and how it affects the bigger picture:

For the record, those three players are Kirk, Billy Horschel and Bubba Watson. However, Watson did fall out of a tie for the lead with a bogey on the 18th hole. It will still make for an interesting weekend and a lot of catching up to do for McIlroy. 

Thursday certainly wasn't McIlroy's best day, though he did rally late when things could have spun out of control due to some bad bogeys after he got under par. Being in the mix is all he can ask for, especially with 54 holes left to play. 

You can rest assured the other players in the field are aware of McIlroy's presence and how quickly he can flip the switch to make a run. 

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