Golf: McIlroy disappointed after challenge fades

Doral, Florida: World number one Rory McIlroy threatened to make a charge at the WGC-Cadillac Championship in Saturday’s third round but was ultimately left disappointed after two late bogeys undid some of his outstanding work. The Northern Irishman shot a superb six-under 30 on the front nine, despite not gaining a stroke on either of the two par fives but then made bogeys on the 14th and 16th holes, both par fours, to end with a seven-under 65. He went to the clubhouse at a highly respectable nine-under but was still frustrated with leader Bubba Watson 16 under halfway through his third round and plenty of players going low. “I’m disappointed. I never thought I would stand up here and say I am disappointed with seven-under but today is definitely one of those days,” he said. [caption id=“attachment_240374” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland chips on to the first green during third round play in the WGC-Cadillac Championship. Reuters”]  [/caption] “It’s okay. It would have been nice to post 61 or 62 or whatever but at least I have put myself sort of back into the tournament and given myself a chance to post a high finish at least. So that’s a positive.” McIlroy had just ten putts through his first nine holes and could have reached the turn with an even better score after two miss-hits. On the opening five-par hole, which has proven an easy birdie opportunity, he moved the ball just five feet with his third shot from the rough but still recovered to make par. Then on the par-four second hole, he fluffed his second shot, from 76 yards, missing the green but then holed out from 47 feet with a chip. But those were among the rare moments on the front nine when McIlroy didn’t produce pinpoint accuracy as he flirted with the prospect of posting a sub-60 score. “When I was nine-under through 12, you are thinking four of the last six and he we go. But obviously it didn’t happen like that,” he said. The turning point came with the bogey on the 14th. “I drew a bad lie in the bunker and it was a tough one to get to the green and I left it short. That bogey there stopped my momentum and I just couldn’t get it back after that,” he said. McIlroy also took a swipe at the course, saying it was too easy for the top professionals. The Doral resort is in the process of being purchased by property developer Donald Trump and McIlroy said he was looking forward to the changes that have been promised. “It’s a resort golf course and it was a tough test 15 years ago but now it’s just got outdated,” he said. “They definitely need to do something with it and it is great to see that Trump’s taking over the place and he’s going to do a good job with it, I’m sure.” Reuters