Making up the numbers simply doesn't do it for Rory McIlroy. He's a winner, but, so far this season, a victory on tour – either in Europe or the United States – has evaded his clutches and the 25-year-old Northern Irishman departed The Players tournament with another top-15 finish to his name but no silverware.
McIlroy is tournament host and headline act at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open at The K Club, starting on Thursday, which would be the perfect place to find that elusive win but the world number three would need to get his putter hotter after again failing at Sawgrass to take full advantage of the chances he created.
As he has described the season, “results-wise, it isn’t what I’ve hoped for. My performances have been pretty good. I’ve had a few chances to win tournaments . . . it hasn’t been that bad. But there’s no wins in there, I haven’t converted any of the opportunities that I’ve had to win.
“It’s been frustrating, especially since I feel like I’ve played some really good golf in this stretch but, at the same time, there’s just been too many mistakes.”
A case in point came in McIlroy’s final round at Sawgrass where, although too far behind to contend after a disappointing Saturday on baked greens, a pulled tee-shot into the water on the par three 13th led to a bogey and halted any momentum he had worked up. That bogey on 13 was followed by another on 15 and a failure to birdie the par five 16th – the easiest hole of the final round – although a birdie on the 18th saw him sign for a closing 70 for 281, seven-under-par, to finish inside the top-15.
Tidying up
“I know I’m playing good enough to make the birdies and to post a lot of red numbers, but I just need to tidy up everything else,” said McIlroy of his current play, and where better to regain the winning habit than at The K Club?
In reality, McIlroy’s hopes evaporated in Saturday’s third round when he shot a 75. Afterwards, he described how much the greens had changed: “It’s like a US Open out there. I can’t really describe it any other way. I mean, it got to the point where when you’re grounding your putter, you can’t square it up because the surfaces are so shiny and so slippy. It was difficult. It was really difficult.”
Those greens at Sawgrass will actually be ripped up from Monday, to be rebuilt and replaced by completely new putting surfaces for the tournament’s return next year.
Of the three Irish players to survive the cut, Graeme McDowell left Sawgrass with a real pep in his step as he birdied his final three holes for a 69 that left him on eight-under-par 280 and inside the top-10.
McDowell had struggled on the front nine to find any touch, turning in one-over 37 with not a birdie on his card. But the Portrush man found his touch on the way home with birdies on the 10th, from four feet, the 12th, from eight feet, the 16th, the 17th and the 18th. His only blemish on that run for home came on the par three 13th where he three-putted for bogey.
G-Mac's finish was in stark contrast to that of his playing partner Shane Lowry, who three-putted the 18th hole for a bogey in signing for a finishing 71 for 282 which at least gave him a top-20 finish to bring with him to The K Club.
Lowry – whose bogey-bogey-double bogey start to his third round 78 on Saturday put an end to his tournament winning aspirations – produced a great start to his final round in his quest for world ranking points to count towards his Ryder Cup qualification.
Run of birdies
The Offalyman had a run of three birdies in a row from the second but was brought to a halt by bogeys on the seventh and ninth before reeling off six successive pars before a birdie on the 16th brought him back to seven-under.
However, his tournament finished poorly with a bogey on the 18th that nevertheless gave him his best ever finish there.
Lowry – along with McDowell and McIlroy – moves on to the Irish Open in Straffan this week for the €4 million tournament.
Jason Day claimed a maiden Players tournament, carding a closing 71 to finish 15 under par and four shots ahead of American Kevin Chappell.
