Rory McIlroy suffered a brutal double bogey on the 18th hole on Saturday at the HSBC Abu Dhabi Championship.
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Rory McIlroy’s DP’s quest for his 18th World Tour victory came to an abrupt halt on Saturday when a late mistake derailed his round for the second day in a row.
McIlroy, playing the sixth-to-last set, was moving up the leaderboard at Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship for most of Round 3. After opening with a bogey on the par-4 first hole at Yas Links, McIlroy split six birdies over his next 14 holes, arriving at the par-5 18th in 5 less during the day and 15 below normal overall. .
But then: disaster. McIlroy’s tee shot found the water to the left of the fairway. After the drop, his third shot left him with a 219-yard approach to the hole. His next shot went into the front bunker of the green. McIlroy hit his fifth shot to 10 feet but missed that putt to tap in for a bogey-free double.
That took McIlroy to T13 at 13 under par – five shots behind the Englishman Paul Waring lead with 18 under.
To add insult to injury, it was the second time in as many rounds that a late-round bogey cost McIlroy.
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During Friday’s second round, McIlroy was cruising through seven under 16 before he birdied the 211-yard par-3 17th. That hole didn’t even include a penalty shot. Instead, McIlroy walked away the green bunker into the greenside bunker with his first two shots, was still short of the green with his third shot, then failed to get it up and down. McIlroy returned with a birdie on the 18th on Friday, but unfortunately that was not the case in Round 3.
“To play the last two holes in two two days in a row is not ideal,” McIlroy said after his round on Saturday, “I definitely cost myself some shots there.
“The leaders weren’t going away which was good and I was making a little charge,” he continued. “Just one mistake, that drive on 18, and with him playing so much in the wind.”
Despite the setback, McIlroy was holding out hope that a Sunday charge could still get the job done.
“Depending on what the leaders do, I can still go into tomorrow feeling like I have half a chance,” he said.
Low scores can definitely be found at Yas Links. Tour leader Waring shot an 11-under 61 on Friday, and both Tommy Fleetwood and Thomas Detry have posted rounds of 62 this week.
You can catch the action of the final round of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship on Golf Channel starting at 1:30 a.m. ET on Sunday.
