[caption id="attachment_71631" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="Ryder winners Harrington, McDowell and McIlroy came away empty-handed from Florida."]
Rory McIlroy admitted prior to the Players Championship that TPC Sawgrass presented a personal challenge to him, that it was not a course he felt particularly suited to. That became painfully apparent as McIlroy missed the cut by four strokes.
Company awaited McIlroy in the persons of Graeme McDowell and Padraig Harrington, both of whom shot 145 when 144 was needed to qualify for the weekend.
“I just need to try and get the hang of this golf course somehow,” McIlroy said after shooting 76 on Friday. “Something about this place I just can’t quite get to grips with. Off the tee, I find it pretty difficult around here. You have really got to position your ball in the fairway and to give yourself at least a chance to get to some of these pins.”
McIlroy didn’t feel as if his ball striking was in any way to blame.
“It’s unbelievable,” he said. “I shoot 14 under last week and I feel like I hit it just the same this week, and I’m going home. I don’t know what it is about this place, but as I said, I’ll come back next year and give it my best and try to make it to the weekend.”
As for the other two, Harrington’s play was the most disappointing, as he opened with 69 (five birdies, two bogeys) on Thursday. A different player seemed to inhabit his body on Friday, as he racked up four bogeys, offset by just two birdies, on the front side. A double bogey 6 led off the back side, and a bogey at 18 finished him off.
CHALLENGE TOUR
Brendan McCarroll finished
in 25th place in the Allianz
Open in Pleneuf, France. His 288 (70-73-72-73) was eight strokes over par
and 11 strokes off the low number. Behind him came Stephen Grant, in joint-37th, who shot 291 (67-73-74-77),
and Chris Devlin in 58th place at 301 (73-71-78-79).
EUROPEAN SENIOR TOUR
Philip Walton got a share of 22nd place in the Mallorca Open Senior at Pula Golf Club in Mallorca, Spain. At 2-over-par 215 (69-74-72), he was 10 strokes off the winning score. Trailing Walton were Des Smyth, in 40th place at 220 (74-74-72), Jimmy Heggarty, tied for 48th place at 223 (71-81-71), and Eamonn Darcy, with a share of 62nd place at 228 (74-75-79).
