Rory McIlroy rues conservative approach in WGC at Doral
Rory McIlroy went into the final round of the WGC-Cadillac Championship at Doral with a three-shot edge. He walked out in third place, behind runner-up Bubba Watson and winner Adam Scott.
Ahead of this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational, McIlroy said that his conservative approach on that Sunday may well have cost him the win.
“I played the way I thought I needed to play, I just didn’t hit it close enough. I didn’t have a realistic birdie chance, inside 25 feet, until the 12th hole,” McIlroy said. “So I was playing smart, hitting it to 30 feet. But you’re not going to make birdies, you’re not going to gain ground on the field by doing that.”
McIlroy didn’t make a birdie until the drivable par-4 16th. At that point, the tournament was practically out of reach thanks to early bogeys that left him playing catch up to the Aussie.
“It was a tough one because, I mean, I go out there and I shoot 71, and I win the golf tournament,” McIlroy said. “Doral is a tough place with the wind, not to protect the lead but just to play with the lead because there’s danger lurking around every corner.”
The world No. 2 made the decision ahead of Doral to go to a cross-handed putting grip, which paid great dividends in Round 2 but seemed to have little otherwise impact. McIlroy will stick with the choic this week, reiterating that it wasn’t a one-time deal.
“Putting feels good. I’m really excited and happy about the switch,” he said. “For first week out at Doral, I felt it went pretty well. An extra week to practice with it and get more adjusted to it in terms of speed of putts and lag putting, and I feel even better about it coming into this week.”
Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.
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