Sunday 9 April 2017 00:03, UK
Rory McIlroy reflected on a day of "wasted opportunities" as he failed to build on a bright start to his third-round 71 at the Masters.
The world No 2 birdied two of the first three holes, but a bogey at five and a three-putt double-bogey at the seventh halted his momentum before he missed a series of chances after the turn.
McIlroy got off to an ideal start when he followed a cast-iron par with a birdie at the second following a 280-yard three-wood onto the green, and he almost drove the green at the next before pitching to tap-in range.
But all his excellent early work came undone when he three-putted the fifth and ran up a double-bogey six at the seventh, where his drive bounded into the pines and his second plugged in a bunker.
He gouged out but again three-putted from distance, although he responded with a nice up and down for birdie at eight and, after three pars, he holed from the rear fringe for a bonus birdie at the 12th.
McIlroy played a poor pitch at 13 and missed from 12 feet for birdie, and he was close to finding water after going long with his second to the 15th before his frustration boiled over following his tee-shot to the 16th which just cleared the pond.
He did well to save par from 50 feet, and he escaped with a four at the 17th despite carving his drive deep into the trees before a cast-iron par at the last completed a frustrating day, and he admitted he will need "the round of my life" on Sunday.
McIlroy said: "I hit the wrong club on five, had an eight‑iron in my hands and then switched to a nine, and the one place you don't want to miss it on that green is short, which I did, and three‑putted. So that sort of stopped any momentum I had and I was a little frustrated.
"And then I got a bit of a tough break on seven. I hit a decent tee shot but it ended up behind the trees on the right. I tried to get cute with a bunker shot and three‑putted from there. There are times on this course where you take your medicine and try to just walk away with a par.
"Then there are times to attack, and I sort of got the balance right today, but I didn't take my opportunities when I could have. I had some chances on the back nine that I could have converted. I had a great chance on 11 and 14, and from where I hit my drives on 13 and 15, I should be making birdie off the tee shots.
"But that's the way it is. The course is getting a little trickier with the greens getting a little firmer. The conditions were quite tough today, so I think I probably could have shot a 67 or 68, but just a few too many wasted opportunities.
"I'm going to need my best score around here, 65, and I'm going to need something like that, if not lower, to have a chance tomorrow. I think I can win, yeah, but I need to play the round of my life."
