Rory McIlroy at PGA Championship 2016: Thursday Leaderboard Score and Reaction

Rory McIlroy's chances of winning a major tournament in 2016 likely ended Thursday, as the superstar shot a disappointing four-over 74 at the PGA Championship at the Baltusrol Golf Course in Springfield, New Jersey.

That left McIlroy well off the pace of the top of the leaderboard: 

McIlroy's day didn't start well. After parring his first three holes, he bogeyed Nos. 13, 14 and 16 (he opened on the back nine). That left McIlroy with a fight on his hands, as Jason Sobel of ESPN noted:

His first nine holes, indeed, were marked by a series of missed opportunities, per Bob Harig of ESPN:

He parred the next three holes before recording another bogey on No. 2. He did right the ship somewhat from there, finishing with seven straight pars. 

On just about every level, it was a disappointing performance from McIlroy, per Justin Ray of the Golf Channel:

His driving wasn't necessarily the issue. He had a 64.2 percent driving accuracy, averaged a driving distance of 323 yards and hit 72.2 percent of his greens in regulation, per PGATour.com. But his lackluster putting betrayed him.

McIlroy addressed his short game after his round, per BBC Sport:

"

Tee to green is not the problem, but when I get to the greens it's a different story. I had a couple of chances early on that I could not convert and then missed a couple of greens and did not get up and down and I was always chasing it from there. I really struggled with the pace. They look much quicker than they are and two or three times I had putts within 12 feet that were downhill and left them short. I need to be more aggressive and shoot something in the mid-60s and get into the weekend.

"

Indeed, his putting struggles practically eliminate McIlroy from elimination for a title, barring a drastic turn in form. At this point, he is fighting just to make the cut.

And golf writer Dan Jenkins didn't think McIlroy had the look of a player who was bothered by that fact:

McIlroy has the talent to recover, of course. But even if he plays three brilliant rounds, he may have dug himself too deep a hole to escape. On Friday, the goal will be just to make the cut. From there, McIlroy can concern himself with crafting a legendary comeback. 

Anything less won't be enough for him to get back in the running after Thursday's disastrous round.

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