Rory McIlroy at HSBC Champions 2015: Sunday Leaderboard Score and Reaction
Rory McIlroy shot his best round of the 2015 HSBC Champions tournament on Sunday, but his six-under par 66 wasn't enough to usurp the leaders.
The Northern Irishman finished the competition on 14 under, six shots behind winner Russell Knox, settling for a share of 11th place.
Here is McIlroy's full scorecard:
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| Par | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 36 |
| Score | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 33 |
| Overall | -8 | -9 | -10 | -10 | -11 | -11 | -11 | -11 | -11 | -11 |
| Par | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 36 |
| Score | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 33 |
| Overall | -11 | -12 | -12 | -12 | -13 | -13 | -14 | -13 | -14 | -14 |
McIlroy Rallies, But It's Not Enough
The HSBC Champions has proven to be one of the most exciting tournaments of the year once again, with the standard of golf excellent during all four rounds.
Despite a disappointing level par during Friday's second round, McIlroy has shown flashes of his best.
Sitting eight shots off the lead after the third round, he shot three birdies through his first five holes on Sunday.
However, he failed to land birdie again until the 11th hole, as he ran out of time to catch the leaders.
Further birdies on the 14th and 16th gave McIlroy a chance of a strong finish, but a solitary bogey on the penultimate hole damaged his score.
A birdie on the 18th ensured the Irishman ended on a high as he carded a 66—two shots better than Thursday and Saturday's efforts.
McIlroy's putting markedly improved on Sunday, as shared by the European Tour:
The world No. 3 believed he could have won in Shanghai, but his issues on the green stunted his progress during the four days of play, per Sky Sports:
"I feel like I played well enough to win this week. I just didn't hole enough putts and that's sort of been the story of my season, well, at least, for the last couple of months anyway.
But it's getting better. I feel like every tournament I play, I'm getting a little bit better and hopefully I can continue in that trend and go into Dubai and play well again.
"
The player's approach play has been as good as ever, but he suffered with putter in hand during the first three rounds.
It hamstrung his efforts to penetrate the very top of the leaderboard, and he will have to work on this aspect to challenge at forthcoming championships.
McIlroy is scheduled to play at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai on Nov. 19, per the player's official website, and he will be searching for higher levels of consistency.
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