Pressure Proves Too Much as Rory McIlroy Bows to Emotional Dubuisson in Turkey

BELEK, TURKEY — The expected charge did not arrive, as Rory McIlroy's bid for glory on the final day of the Turkish Airlines Open ended in disappointment.

Starting the day one shot off the leaders, McIlroy posted the worst round, 71, of anyone in the top 14. In the end, he finished six strokes behind winner, 2013 champion Victor Dubuisson.

It was a hugely disappointing final 18 holes, after which McIlroy admitted his game had not stood up to the pressure: "It is always good to test yourself under pressure, and my game did not hold up as well as I wanted it to today.

"It is definitely better than the last couple of starts. The ball striking is better, and it is a case of getting into these positions and [trying] to handle it better.

"I don't know if it was a case of maybe trying too hard."

For him to make that admission is an indicator of where the four-time major champion's game is at right now.

McIlroy has not played well since his season was interrupted by an ankle injury in the height of summer.

He admitted at the start of the tournament his aim was to get into contention. That was accomplished during the first three rounds, but he wilted in the heat of battle.

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The alarm bells sounded extremely early—on the first hole, to be precise.

Par fives are generally at the mercy of the world No. 3, and the opening hole handed him the ideal platform to begin his round with a bang. But that chance disappeared with a poor chip shot, and he had to settle for a par.

A bit early in the round for a player to succumb to the pressure of the fight, but the chip was inexplicable.

A birdie was comfortably made on the short par-four third and another at the following hole, but that was only achieved after flirting with danger off the tee.

On the same hole on Thursday, McIlroy had a huge slice of fortune as his ball was heading toward the water, only to strike a tree and bounce back into play. The drive on Sunday also flirted with danger on the left but managed to avoid the water.

The driver, though, was not the issue. He regularly put himself in position to take aim at the flags, which he had to do to reel in the leaders, but he had a case of the wides with his mid and long irons and was sloppy on and around the green. Only a fine putt on the fifth kept a bogey off the card following a woeful chip.

A poor chip shot on eight resulted in the first bogey of his round, and it got worse on nine.

"Sit down" was a phrase too often used by McIlroy in his final round. After a fine drive on nine, McIlroy sent his approach through the back of the green. A poor chip followed. Bogey.

Four bad chip shots in his opening nine holes were not the sign of a man at the peak of his powers.

The walk from nine to 10 was one McIlroy made with an extremely glum look on his face. Victory was not out of reach, but he needed to make something positive happen.

Instead, he put himself out of position with an iron off the tee on 10. The rot had set in.

"I started to hit the ball left, which wasn't good," he said. "I hit an iron shot left at five and then iron shots left at eight, nine and 10 that put me in bad positions, and I did not get up and down, which was not good. But the reason I did not do that was because I put myself in a bad position in the first place."

He had looked in cruise control for three rounds, but it would appear that overnight someone had whipped out the Aston Martin's V8 engine and replaced with a two stroke.

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The cry of "sit down" was replaced by one of anguish on 11. It's a hole where an eagle is possible, certainly for a player of McIlroy's length. He did the first part by sending a drive powering down the fairway. With an iron in hand for his second shot, the expectation was one of the ball dancing around the flag. Instead, the cry of anguish was on account of a pushed second that found a bunker.

On the 12th in Round 2, he hit one of the shots of the tournament to set up a birdie. He was in a similar position off the tee, in prime position in the left half of the fairway, but this time he pushed his approach way to the right.

He wasn't just missing on the left side, as he suggested; he was missing right as well, and it's not a good sign when the ball is flying both sides of the fairway.

It was all very uncharacteristic and somewhat unexpected, especially after he'd played his way into position in the first three rounds.

McIlroy will now head to China for the WGC-HSBC Champions event in Shanghai. It is a course he knows well, so the indicators are pointing toward a bold show. But the pressure will be applied once again. It's how he handles it.

Day Belongs to Emotional Dubuisson

While there was massive attention on McIlroy, Dubuisson quietly got the job done.

And it was done on the back of not arriving until the early hours on the day before the tournament started. But he knows the course well, having won the event in 2013. And unlike McIlroy, he stood firm in the heat, and a birdie on 18 enabled him to see off playing partners Jaco Van Zyl and Kiradech Aphibarnrat.

The winning putt resulted in a real show of emotion, as the Frenchman broke down in tears.

"

Déjà vu! 🏆 An emotional Victor Dubuisson wins the 2015 #TurkishAirlinesOpen. https://t.co/oDtV8qGUZg

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) November 1, 2015"

It was his first time back in the winner's circle since his previous win in the Turkish Airlines Open. It will propel him back inside the world's top 50 and send him a long way down the road to qualifying for the 2016 Ryder Cup.

Dubuisson had plenty to be emotional about.