Rory McIlroy was ranked last in strokes gained putting in round three of the Genesis Invitational at Torrey Pines as he fell five shots behind Patrick Rodgers.
McIlroy took 74 blows on Saturday as he fell back to three-under-par alongside world number one Scottie Scheffler who encountered his own difficulties with a 76 as the star names went against the script.
McIlroy has not played the par fives well this week and he frustratingly wound up taking a six on the 6th before a bogey on the par-3 8th left him five shots off the pace. A birdie at the par-5 9th steadied affairs but from there it became a series of missed opportunities on the greens.
Chances went begging on the 10th, 13th and 15th as he failed to whittle down the four shot gap to Rodgers.
Frustration on the greens eventually boiled over to cloud his concentration as he inexplicably three-putted from 12 feet on the par-3 16th for a double bogey which may be a tournament ender by Sunday evening.
He did bounce back with a closing birdie but it was a day to forget for the 35-year-old.
West Waterford’s Seamus Power also struggled to a 74 as he slipped back to level-par and a share of 20th place, two shots clear of Shane Lowry who made it a hat trick of 74s for the Irish.
Despite closing his round with a bogey on 18, 54-hole ladder Rodgers was in sublime form and he was faultless to that point making five birdies and a series of clutch up and downs to open a one shot lead over Denny McCarthy and two ahead of Ludvig Aberg who made a hole in one on the par-3 3rd.
“I played awesome today, it was great. It’s rare to have a pretty clean day out at Torrey Pines just especially the length of the golf course, the rough and then playing the back nine into the breeze. That finishing stretch is no joke. So yeah, definitely proud of the round that I put together.
“In reference to on the greens, it’s been a difficult start to the year. I tried to implement a few changes in my putting to improve at the start of the year and I didn’t like the direction that I was headed, so I kind of got back to the way that I have always putted. I’ve always been historically a really good putter.”
The 32-year-old is of the same generation as Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Xander Schauffele and while he was expected to emulate that trio he is yet to clinch a PGA Tour victory and has only ever been ranked as high as 74th in the world.
“I mean, it’s clearly something I’ve battled in my career. It’s the thing that whenever my name is mentioned, that’s the first thing that everybody says professionally so it’s something that I have to deal with. I think I’ve struggled with it for a long time, but I feel like I’m viewing my career from a different vantage point now and I’m excited about the opportunity to cross that finish line tomorrow.”
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