Rory McIlroy at Players Championship 2016: Sunday Leaderboard Score, Reaction
Rory McIlroy entered Sunday needing a miracle to get back in contention for his first Players Championship victory. It never came.
McIlroy carded a two-under score of 70 in his final round at TPC Sawgrass, ending his day in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, in relative anonymity at seven under for the tournament. The former world No. 1 tied for 12th after carding his third round in four days in the 70s. Reigning No. 1 Jason Day won the tournament by four strokes.
While a brilliant 64 on Friday briefly put McIlroy in contention, it was largely a middle-of-the-road week. His final round in many ways mirrored his first, with a bunch of bad approaches leading to two-putts and pars. McIlroy had six holes above or below the par line, though that was enough to move him up three spots on the leaderboard.
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| Par | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 |
| Score | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| Par | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 |
| Score | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 |
Starting his day in 15th place, McIlroy got off to a strong start. He narrowly missed a 21-foot birdie putt on the first hole before sinking his first under-par score of the day at the par-five second.
Unfortunately, it didn't carry over in the way he hoped. McIlroy's approach play quickly began rearing its head, as iron shots either left him with lengthy birdie putts or off the green entirely. From holes Nos. 3 through 8, McIlroy had only two birdie attempts inside 25 feet.
The par-five ninth offered a reprieve, as McIlroy was able to recover from an approach that ended up in the rough to set up a four-foot birdie putt. He made the turn at two under for the day and was firmly back in the top 10.
Par fives once again helped McIlroy on the back nine, as he moved to a best of three under on the day with a birdie on No. 11. His approach yet again hit the rough, but he was able to get the ball within five feet and nail the putt for his third birdie of the day.
That's about where the good times ended. McIlroy was seven feet from putting himself in real contention on No. 12, where his best approach of the day gave him a relatively straightforward birdie attempt. His balky putter came up short at the worst possible moment, though, and McIlroy sent the ball sailing two feet past the hole.
The Lead commented on McIlroy's poor putting:
Matters only got worse on the par-three 13th, with McIlroy dropping his tee shot into the water. Golf Channel and Bleacher Report's Adam Kramer both offered their thoughts:
Another shaky approach left McIlroy with a near-impossible 39-foot birdie putt on No. 14, and he dropped his second bogey of the day on No. 15. His first two shots went deep into the trees, leaving him to scramble to save par. A solid pitch nearly did the trick, but McIlroy missed his nine-foot par putt.
Missed putts and bad approaches were the story of the week for McIlroy. He was long and largely accurate with his drives. Second shots were just consistently awry, and his putts were when the approaches weren't. The par-five 16th saw a little bit of both, with McIlroy hitting his second shot into the rough before later sailing a five-foot birdie putt two feet past the hole.
No. 18 allowed McIlroy one brief opportunity for what could have been. A 330-yard drive left him 118 away from the hole, and he nailed his approach within four feet. An easy tap-in allowed McIlroy to close his round on a high note, but he's still closing yet another tournament without a win.
Failing this week guarantees McIlroy will now be a full calendar year without a win in a competitive tournament. His last triumph was at the Wells Fargo Championship in May 2015, a time when it looked like no one this side of Jordan Spieth stood a chance at taking him down.
Now, he's the third in a three-man group atop the sport. It's amazing how much a year can change things.
Post-Round Reaction
McIlroy commented on his failure to win tournaments, per Brian Wacker of Golf Digest: "It is hard to temper (the frustration) because I feel like I'm playing good enough golf with the way I'm hitting the shots to win golf tournaments, and I haven't won a golf tournament this year. The last golf tournament I won was in Dubai in November, so it feels like a long time ago now.”
He also indicated he was ready for the U.S. Open: “I’m looking forward to it. Back to a nice traditional U.S. Open, not like we’re playing on the moon this year.”
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