Rory McIlroy played a good but not great round and certainly a disappointing final The PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club on Sunday.
McIlroy entered the day three shots off the lead and he was among the striking distance favourites. But McIlroy, like many of the other stars in the competition – Jon Rahm, Xander Schauffele, Ludvig Aberg – didn’t make it. He birdied the second hole, chipped in 10 straight, then followed up a bogey on 13 with a birdie on 14. Four straight pars closed out his round. He shot 69 and finished four under overall, five back of winner Aaron Rai.
McIlroy’s round had few fireworks, although what happened on the par-5 16th hole on Sunday might qualify as such.
Three back at the time, McIlroy still had a chance to make a move, but he was short of the rough and had a delicate fairway from 37 yards and a bunker to clear for his third shot. His ball landed over the bunker but away from his target and was hit back into the sand.
The CBS broadcast received mostly groans when the ball landed in the bunker, though one fan yelled, “USA!”
McIlroy, staring in that direction, appeared to bark back, “shut the f— up.” He then pointed his wedge at the area he was looking at to alert security. It is unclear if the fan has been removed.
While this wasn’t the Bethpage Ryder Cup – where McIlroy and his wife were verbally abused so much so The CEO of the PGA of America apologized to them – McIlroy heard “USA!” sings during his time in Aronimink. What led to his reaction was not the first time.
McIlroy got up and down the bunker to save par. He tied for 7th place.
“I think not birdying two par-5s and bogeying the par-4 13th (was the difference between a good round and a great one),” he said afterward. “For me, I felt like I played the golf I needed to play the rest of the way. If I made two par-5s and made that 5-under 3 on 13, the day looks a lot different.”
McIlroy said he plans to take the next two weeks off before playing the Memorial at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio. Unless he decides to play in the RBC Canadian Open the week after, the Memorial will be his last tune before the US Open at Shinnecock Hills on June 18-21.
