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ORLANDO, FLORIDA | For Rory McIlroy, it felt like a lost weekend at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Starting the final round at Bay Hill two strokes behind eventual champion Tyrrell Hatton, the world’s top-ranked player fell victim to his own mistakes as he made two double bogeys on his first nine holes on his way to a closing 76 that left him tied for fifth at even par, four strokes behind Hatton.
On the positive side, it was McIlroy’s seventh consecutive top-five finish in a PGA Tour event, but he hit just four fairways in the windy final round and was out of contention by the turn on Sunday.
“It's aggravating but at the same time I just have to keep telling myself the game's there,” said McIlroy (above). “I didn't have my best stuff again over the weekend, but neither did anyone in these really tough conditions.
“I guess the two doubles that I made today sort of, I don't know, it's, I think if I am going to keep getting myself into contention like I am, I just need to sort of stop making those big numbers.”
After a bogey at the par-4 fifth, McIlroy made a mess of the horseshoe-shaped par-5 sixth. After hitting a 345-yard tee shot through the fairway, McIlroy’s second shot from a bad lie wound up in a bunker. From there, he hit his third over the green into a hazard and paid the price.
At the par-4 ninth, McIlroy’s chances effectively ended when he hooked his tee shot out of bounds. Sitting two shots off the lead Saturday afternoon, McIlroy had said his chances on Sunday would be based on his ability to keep big numbers off his scorecard.
Last year, McIlroy had a flat Sunday with a chance to win at Bay Hill and then rebounded by winning the Players Championship.
“I'm doing what I expect myself to do every week, which is giving myself a chance,” McIlroy said. “I give myself a chance most weeks and the more weeks than not it's not going to happen. That's just the way golf is.
“I think my win percentage on tour is like 10 percent and I think that's pretty high for anyone not being Tiger Woods. It's one of those things. I've had chances and I wish I had converted one of them over the last few weeks, but I'm still in good form. I'm playing some good golf. And hopefully if I just keep putting myself in those positions, it's only a matter of time.”
Ron Green Jr.