Rory McIlroy stutters on 'frustrating' Shanghai back nine by nevel



 Rory McIlroy played 10 immaculate holes at the World Golf Championship HSBC Champions on Friday before the wheels, while not exactly coming off, had a serious wobble in Shanghai.


Click Here To Watch Live Free
Click Here To Watch Live Free
Click Here To Watch Live Free

As he stood on the 11th tee, he had hit 10 greens in regulation, made three birdies and never looked like dropping a shot. He had extended his two-shot overnight lead to three and was 10-under par.

The tough 456-yard par four lay ahead, having been the scene of his only bogey during his sumptuous opening day 65.

But McIlroy found the same deadly fairway bunker on the right as on Thursday, and he agreed that knocked him sideways a little.

"It played on my mind a little bit," McIlroy told AFP straight after his round. "To make the same mistake twice into that bunker was very frustrating.

"I didn't have any bogeys up to that point and I wanted to play bogey-free. Obviously that didn't happen."

He fell back to nine-under where he was joined briefly by the USA's Dustin Johnson, who went on to shoot a course record-equalling 63 and move to 12 under for the tournament -- five clear of McIlroy, who dropped two more on the way in, and fellow Americans Boo Weekley and Bubba Watson.


Click Here To Watch Live Free
Click Here To Watch Live Free
Click Here To Watch Live Free

"The driver's good when it's going well but when I hit a couple of bad ones it knocks my confidence a bit so I just need to go on the range and hit a few drives and get the confidence back," McIlroy said.
View gallery."
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland pictured after his …
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland pictured after his tee shot at the 15th hole before finishing equal …

"I'm still working a bit on my swing so that is what it was really. You can let shots slip away pretty easily, there's a couple of tough holes on the back nine."

McIlroy, who led by two shots at the start of the day, was clearly exasperated with his stuttering finish for a level-par round of 72, including a bogey six at the 18th, on a low-scoring day when 37 players shot sub-par rounds.

"I did well on the front and then I just let it get away from me a little bit," he said.

"I didn't really have many chances on the back nine. I had a chance at 10 and a chance at 12, apart from that I was just trying to scramble for pars."

A particular source of ire was his inability to capitalise on the par fives.

"The important thing around this golf course is you have to play the par fives well," the 24-year-old world number six from Holywood, Northern Ireland, said.

"I played the par fives well yesterday, shooting a good score. Played them in even par today and shot an even par round. It's a big difference."



Click Here To Watch Live Free
Click Here To Watch Live Free
Click Here To Watch Live Free


It is just the halfway point, and McIlroy took the positives from playing 27 almost flawless holes Thursday and Friday, saying the back nine hiccup "was just one of those things".

"Hopefully I've got it out of the way now and I can shoot a couple of scores in the 60s at the weekend and give myself a good chance of the win."


Popular posts from this blog

WWE Raw : The Shield goes hunting and Kane puts Bryan through hell

Image
Stephanie McMahon called out WWE World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan Something is not sitting right with one of WWE’s principal owners, and it’s the state of affairs surrounding the WWE World Heavyweight Champion, Daniel Bryan. Despite the heartfelt address the “Yes!” Man delivered to the WWE Universe less than an hour earlier, Stephanie McMahon – who’s lately asserted herself as Bryan’s primary front-office foe thanks to Triple H’s preoccupation with The Shield – more or less insinuated Bryan’s injury was proof positive of what she’s been saying all along: That Bryan can’t hang with the “A-plus players” of WWE. Watch: Kane puts Bryan through hell She demanded a face-to-face with the Champion of Champions, but what she got was a glimpse of just how far she’d gone by returning Kane’s mask to him: The former Director of Operations emerged instead of Bryan, dragging the bearded husk of his former tag-team partner and depositing him on the stage Stephanie, who could onl
Read more

WWE Champion Randy Orton vs. Big Show

Image
The Authority’s settlement with Big Show may not have cost millions of dollars or control of the company, but it could very well put in jeopardy The Face of WWE. At the 27th Annual Survivor Series, the big anti-Authority who packs dynamite in his fist will challenge Randy Orton for the WWE Championship, a condition of the seven-footer’s very public out-of-court settlement with Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. Watch a video preview of The Face vs. The Fist The championship bout comes after months of Big Show being subjected to humiliating power plays by The Authority. Fueled by pent-up rage, the keeper of the KO Punch undoubtedly relishes the opportunity to dismantle Triple H and Stephanie’s chosen one and reclaim the WWE Title in one fell swoop. WWE’s fall classic has historically been very kind to The World’s Largest Athlete: Big Show, a six-time World Champion, began both of his WWE Title reigns at Survivor Series. In 1999, he defeated Triple H and The Rock in a Triple Threat Matc
Read more

NFL Pittsburgh Steelers Should Open And Stick With No-Huddle Against The Browns

Image
Ben Roethlisberger played his best game of the season last week, and the Pittsburgh Steelers are back in the playoff hunt after a slow start. Now Roethlisberger will look to build off that performance Sunday when the Steelers travel to face their AFC North rival Cleveland Browns , whom he has dominated throughout his career. Last Sunday, Roethlisberger threw for 367 yards and four touchdowns without an interception as the Steelers (4-6) defeated the Lions 37-27. The win was the team's fourth in six games after starting 0-4. For his performance, Roethlisberger was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week. " We've got to keep this thing going," said Pittsburgh wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery , who caught the last of Roethlisberger's four touchdowns, a 20-yard strike in the fourth quarter. " Our margin for error is nonexistent right now. We feel good about this team and we're going to keep grinding." Currently tied with the Browns (4-6) in both t
Read more