DORAL, Fla. – Rory McIlroy’s words summed up the afternoon perfectly.
“I never thought I would stand up here and say I’m disappointed with 7 under, but today is definitely one of those days,” McIlroy said moments after shooting 65 Saturday in the third round of the WGC-Cadillac Championship.
Playing with countryman Graeme McDowell, McIlroy jumped off to a hot start on a windless day and shot 6-under 30 on the front nine, although he made par on both par 5s. He then made eagle on the par-5 10th hole and birdie on the par-5 12th hole to get to 9 under.
At that point McIlroy was a shot behind leader Bubba Watson, who hadn’t yet teed off. But he gave two shots back over the final six holes with bogeys on 14 and 16 and shot 65 to end at 9 under par overall.
Watching McIlroy, McDowell said, made him feel “like I was shooting 81 out there for a bit. Had to remind myself I was 5 under par.”
McIlroy admitted that 59 crept into his mind after the birdie on No. 12.
‘Obviously your mind is going to start thinking,’ he said. ‘But it’s a good thing. You set yourself a target and you try and get there, and unfortunately today I wasn’t able to do that.’
Sunday’s final round will be the last competitive round for McIlroy before the Masters. He is taking three weeks off.
