Rory McIlroy at WGC-Cadillac Championship 2016: Sunday Score and Reaction
Carrying the lead into the third round of the WGC-Cadillac Championship, Rory McIlroy wilted under the Doral, Florida, sun at in the final round.
McIlroy will have to keep waiting for his first PGA Tour win of 2016 after shooting a two-over 74 Sunday to finish tied for third for the tournament.
| Par | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 |
| Score | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 |
| Par | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Score | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
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McIlroy's poor final round snaps what was an impressive streak of closing out tournaments, per Golf Channel researcher Justin Ray:
Consistency was one of the biggest keys for the four-time major champion as he had a 57.1 percent driving accuracy and reached 74.1 percent of his greens in regulation. After Saturday's third round, he talked about how he wasn't going to sit on his lead in the final round and hope for the best, per PGATour.com's Brian Wacker:
"You have to just keep going and set yourself a target. Basically, I can't play defensive. Defensive isn't my style. So I need to go out there and be aggressive and be assertive. Obviously pick and choose your moments, but for the most part, set yourself a number, get out there, do it. And that takes everything else away, as well. It takes the thought of winning a tournament, the thought of—all the other stuff.
"
In retrospect, a more cautious approach might have been the most optimal strategy, especially since his score after three rounds (12-under) would've been enough to secure a playoff with eventual winner Adam Scott.
McIlroy started off the day with pars on the first six holes and then ran into trouble on No. 7 and finished with a bogey. Then, his second shot on the eighth hole ended up in the water, per Golf Channel:
The 26-year-old managed to save par but bogeyed No. 9 to finish two over on the front nine, which dropped him into a four-way tie for the lead with Bubba Watson, Danny Willett and Phil Mickelson. Scott then took the lead following three straight birdies to open the back nine.
As Scott rose, McIlroy remained stagnant and then fell behind even further with a bogey on the par-three No. 13. His drive landed in a bunker to the right of the green. Whereas he saved seven of a possible eight opportunities out of the sand in Rounds 2 and 3, Mcilroy didn't have the magic touch Sunday, saving par on only two of his five chances.
A birdie on No. 16 gave him a faint glimmer of hope. His approach on his second shot landed a little over seven feet from the hole, and he converted the ensuing putt.
That left McIlroy just two shots behind Scott, but a comeback wasn't in the cards. Once he carded a par on No. 17, his fate was entirely left to those ahead on the leaderboard. Scott nearly faltered on the final hole, but that still wouldn't have been enough to give McIlroy any chance of winning.
McIlroy's approach play and putting let him down as his work off the tee wasn't the problem. He landed six of his 14 drives on the fairway, which equaled his total from the second round. He also averaged 315.4 yards off the tee, his second-highest of the tournament. The European Tour shared his impressive drive on No. 12:
McIlroy only reached half of the greens in regulation, though, and gained 0.01 strokes with his putting. Ray joked that he may have found the source of McIlroy's issues:
Still, from start to finish, this was his best performance of 2016, at least on the PGA Tour.
The Masters Tournament is only a little over a month away, so it's important for golf's top stars to start building some momentum heading into the Augusta National Golf Club. That tournament is the lone major separating McIlroy from the career Grand Slam.
Final round aside, the No. 3 player in the world has reason to be optimistic about his Masters chances following the WGC-Cadillac Championship.
Post-Round Reaction
"I didn't take advantage of the holes I should have," said McIlroy after his final round, per the Guardian's Ewan Murray. "It's frustrating because that’s two out of the last three weeks. I was leading the golf tournament with 16 holes to play at Riviera. I was leading here going into the back nine and to not get the job done in either two of those instances is very frustrating."
He elaborated on what he felt were his biggest failings Sunday, per the Press Association (via the Irish Independent):
"I didn't make enough birdies. I felt like my game was okay for the most part, but I didn't take advantage of the holes I should have. I couldn't birdie any of the par fives and that's really what killed me today. I'll take a lot of positives from this week. A lot of things didn't go right for me, but I need to just pick myself back up and get into contention again in Orlando in a couple weeks' time and let's see if I can get the win there.
"
McIlroy also spoke about his mentality going into the Masters, per Murray: "I've got two events left to try to get that win before going to Augusta, and I’m hopefully going to get it."
Stats are courtesy of the World Golf Championships' official site.
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