 |
| Getty Images |
Rory McIlroy birdied holes 6-8 at Sheshan International to become the first player this week to reach 10 under and looked like he was ready to cruise to a comfortable 54-hole advantage.
Then the bogeys hit. First on No. 11. Then No. 15. Then on the par-5 18th when an aggressive second shot from a sidehill lie splashed in the water short of the green and led to a third bogey.
McIlroy finished the round at even par and in the same 7-under position in which he opened the round.
"Disappointing, frustrating," he said. "Obviously played nicely the front nine and then started to hit a lot of sloppy shots on the back. Missed the last six greens in a row. Missed seven greens on the back nine, so a bit of work needed on the range this afternoon."
While he was dropping shots on the back nine, McIlroy wasn't falling far down the leaderboard. He left the course in a second-place tie with Bubba Watson and Boo Weekley, behind only leader Dustin Johnson.
"It would have been nice to play a bit better and start tomorrow with a few more shots in hand but I guess I'm in a decent position going into the weekend, and still have a great chance at winning this tournament," McIlroy said.
A victory in this tournament would be McIlroy's first on TOUR since 2012 when he won the PGA Championship, Deutsche Bank Championship and BMW Championship in the span of five weeks.
Graeme McDowell trails Henrik Stenson by €443,725 on the money list, with Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño leaping from 35th to fourth with last week’s BMW Masters triumph.
“There are big repercussions for me to play well this week, especially with what Gonzo did last week,” said McDowell. “I played him last week and he’s the kind of guy who gets his eye in using the putter, he can be a pretty dangerous player, as he is a quality iron player.
“So while Henrik still leads the Race to Dubai there are players like Gonzo behind me and I need to do my best that they don’t go past me.
“Also I am not playing Turkey next week so I have to make the most of this week before Dubai and the final event.”
A three under par round of 69 keeps McDowell in a share of fifth place alongside Fernández-Castaño, Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter and Ernie Els.
No comments:
Post a Comment