Rory McIlroy at Northern Trust Open 2016: Sunday Score and Reaction
Opening his day with gorgeous eagle on his first hole, Rory McIlroy sailed to the top of the leaderboard and appeared ready to take home his first PGA Tour victory since last May.
Unfortunately, McIlroy had an additional 17 holes to play on Sunday.
The former world No. 1's day peaked on his first hole at the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California, as McIlroy descended on the leaderboard amid a poor day on the tee and the green. He carded one birdie against seven bogeys the rest of the way, shooting a four-over 75 on a day when most leaders went under par. Bubba Watson held on for a one-stroke win after recording clutch birdies on Nos. 16 and 17.
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| Par | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 35 |
| Score | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 36 |
| Par | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 36 |
| Score | 4 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 39 |
Overall, McIlroy's four-over round was the second-worst of any golfer who began his day in the top 10. Kevin Chappell was the only other pre-round contender who went over par, as he took a nosedive on the back nine to shoot five over. Of the players who finished in the top 20, the Northern Irishman was the only one to shoot worse than one over.
"Not the finish to the week i'd hoped for," McIlroy tweeted after the round. "Thanks to all the fans in LA for a great week at @NTrustOpen and Riviera. Can't wait to come back!"
McIlroy's game was all over the place. He missed a four-foot par on No. 4 and left a pair of par saves within inches on back-to-back holes on Nos. 6 and 7. Making the turn at one over, there was still some hope that McIlroy could find a way to turn his day around.
It wasn't to be. McIlroy wound up shooting a six on the par-five 11th, spraying shots all around the green in a strange display. He took four strokes within 40 feet of the hole on No. 11, including a four-foot putt that wound up going almost double that amount. That was the first of three straight bogeys, each featuring a series of unsuccessful par saves.
Jason Sobel of ESPN highlighted McIlroy's struggles:
After two holes steadied things a little bit, McIlroy dropped another stroke on the par-three 16th hole. He hit his tee shot into the greenside bunker but was unable to get up and down to save the par. Another two-putt prevented McIlroy from getting his first birdie on No. 17, but he managed to finish his round with a lengthy bird on No. 18.
In a nutshell: McIlroy played his first and last holes at three under and the 16 in between at seven over. Not exactly the way anyone expected things to go. McIlroy hit only half of his fairways and was largely miserable during the rare times he was able to get on the green in position for a birdie.
In three PGA Tour events in the 2015-16 season, McIlroy has not finished any higher than 11th. His last win on tour was the Wells Fargo Championship last May.
The third-ranked golfer will be back in action next week at the Honda Classic, so he'll have to mentally recover from his final round quickly. McIlroy has played each of the seven previous Honda Classics but has never won in Palm Beach, Florida. If his form follows his first three rounds, McIlroy may have a chance. But it's clear after Sunday that at this point his form is nowhere near ready for the Masters Tournament in April.
Post-Round Reaction
McIlroy spoke with Sobel after the round: "There are encouraging signs. But I turned a chance to win into a top-20 at the end of the day, so it wasn't too good."
On his putting: "I didn't have the pace on the greens at all today. Couple of three-putts on the front nine. Put myself in a couple of awkward positions when I did miss it. The course played a little more difficult today with the wind. It was a little firmer. I dropped a few shots and trying to chase on this golf course, which just isn't good."
On his mindset heading into next week: "I'll have a nice day off [Monday], regroup and hopefully put myself in contention next week. My pace putting today was a little off. So I guess work on that, try and get the speed on the greens down a little more. But tee to green, I felt pretty good. It's just one of those days. I couldn't really get anything going after the good start."
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