Rory McIlroy has admitted he is not happy with his game after slipping to a third-place finish at the BMW Championship, despite coming close to victory. The Northern Irishman birdied three of his final four holes in the third round to close within five shots of leader Wyndham Clark, earning a Sunday pairing with the US Open champion.
McIlroy drew level with Clark on the final day and was tied for the lead with three holes remaining, but finished four shots adrift. Clark closed with three straight birdies to seal a three-stroke victory and his third PGA Tour win of the season.
McIlroy's honest assessment
Speaking about his performance, McIlroy admitted: "I'm closer [with his game] than I was at the start of the week. I'm still not in a spot where I'm super happy with where my game is or where my swing is, so I just have to keep working on it. It's nice to know, even when I'm not super happy with everything, I can still piece it together and get it around and still give myself a chance to win tournaments."
The world No2 capitalised two shots on the first hole, then bounced back after making mistakes at the fourth and seventh. He went on a good run, making three birdies in four holes starting at the eighth. That helped him catch up because Clark struggled and played his first 10 holes three over par.
Clark's decisive finish
Clark moved in front with a 15-foot birdie on the 16th, then gained two more shots at the par-five 17th. He made a birdie while McIlroy dropped one. Clark added another birdie at the last to widen his winning margin over Patrick Cantlay.
"I felt like most of my game held up today," McIlroy added. "Obviously, going out in the final group and you're working on some stuff, you're just hoping that everything stays the way it is. I hit it well on the back nine. I gave myself plenty of chances. I just couldn't get a putt to drop there in those final few holes.
"I always felt like I needed to just get my nose ahead to really try to put the pressure on Wyndham [Clark] and I couldn't. We were tied there for a few holes and then when he made that putt on 16 for a two and I couldn't answer - that was obviously a huge moment in the round and in the tournament. Overall, encouraged with how I played this week and certainly something to build on going into East Lake."
Looking ahead to East Lake
Despite feeling he should have won, McIlroy wasn't left disappointed. "I can't be," he continued. "I'm probably not playing well enough to be disappointed that I didn't win. I had my chances on the back nine and hit a lot of good putts that didn't go in.
"Wyndham Clark stepped up when he needed too. His birdie on 16 was huge and the way he played the last three holes, he showed a lot of character."
McIlroy will now gear up for the Tour Championship at East Lake GC, which begins on Thursday (August 27). He'll be competing for the FedExCup and the $10m first prize. Only the top 30 players in the rankings qualify for the event.
