Sunday 19 May 2019 21:46, UK
Rory McIlroy was left ruing another disappointing day on the greens after failing to make a significant rise up the PGA Championship leaderboard.
McIlroy struggled to an opening-round 72 and needed four birdies in the last six holes on Friday to make the halfway cut, before settling for a third-round 69 at Bethpage Black.
The world No 4, looking for a first major title since winning the event in 2014, squandered a number of birdie opportunities in calm conditions and was frustrated not to post a lower number.
"it definitely could have been better," McIlroy admitted. "It's the best I hit it all week for sure. I sort of got it going on the front nine and hit a couple of loose shots on the back nine.
"I didn't convert as many chances as I would have liked but it was an improvement over the last couple days. If I had just made a couple of putts, I could have definitely shot 65,66 easily out there today.
Get the best prices and book a round at one of 1,700 courses across the UK & Ireland
McIlroy, heading into the weekend 15 strokes off the pace, missed chances from inside 15 feet on each of his opening three holes before holing a 30-foot eagle at the par-four fifth.
The Northern Irishman scrambled a par from the sand at the next and fired his tee shot at the par-three eighth to tap-in range on his way to reaching the turn in 32, only to start his back nine with a bogey after finding the bunker with his approach.
McIlroy three-putted for bogey at the 14th and had to settle for a par at the next after almost holing his approach into the par-four, with the 30-year-old unable to find another birdie along the closing stretch.
"If you look at the last nine I played yesterday and the first nine I played today, I was seven under for those 18 holes," McIlroy added. "It's just about putting it all together on the right day.
"It was nice to see the putt drop on fourth after the first three. I definitely felt like I left four or five out there, but you have to put it all together to shoot a really good score. I was close to doing that today, but just not quite."
Watch the final round of the PGA Championship on Sunday from 4pm on Sky Sports Golf and 7pm on Sky Sports Main Event.
