GOLF/MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT:RORY McILORY went into the final round of the Memorial Tournament with two ambitions to meet. Firstly, he sought to play catch-up on midway leader Steve Stricker; and, secondly, he was priming up for a trip to Haiti as part of his role as Unicef Ireland ambassador for the third world charity.
On the first point, McIlroy – playing aggressively on a course set up for a final round charge – set down his marker with an impressive outward run of 32 which featured five birdies and a lone bogey, but even that salvo failed to make any real inroads on Stricker who remained in a strong position to claim the title when the threat of lightning caused a lengthy weather delay.
McIlroy – three under on his round through 16 holes when his round was stopped in its tracks – was set for a top-10 finish but was eight strokes behind Stricker, whose main challenger was Brandt Jobe. Dustin Johnson set the early clubhouse target, shooting a final round 65 for 276 (12-under-par),
Prior to going out, McIlroy had claimed his game plan would be one of marrying aggression with conservatism. He explained: “I felt last year I made a few silly mistakes, and Ive tried to change my strategy a little bit. You’ve got to be conservative on holes where you don’t think the risk is worth taking . . . I mean, you have got to pick the right time to be aggressive. You really need to pick the right time and select the right pin where you can be aggressive.”
McIlroy, seeking his first win on tour since the Quail Hollow championship 13 months ago, went into the final round five shots adrift of Stricker. Having only hit 11 greens in regulation on Saturday – “not like me,” conceded McIlroy – he felt it was important to “hang in there” to at least give himself a chance going into the final round.
And, on a final day where the course set-up encouraged aggression and led to an avalanche of birdies, the 22-year-old Ulsterman mustered five of his own on the outward run. McIlroy birdied the second only to bogey the third before a run of four successive birdies – from the fifth to the eighth – moved him back into the thick of the hunt.
Unfortunately for McIlroy, his chase faded on the back nine when he bogeyed the 10th, 13th and 14th to go with birdies on 11 and 15.
Playing in his last outing before the US Open begins on June 16th – McIlroy is visiting Haiti briefly this week before travelling back to Washington to practice at Congressional – McIlroy remarked that Muirfield Village was good preparation for the season’s second major: “I dont think the fairways will be quite as generous at Congressional as they are here, but this golf course is always set up well. I think Congressional is going to be a little tougher. But with the rough and the heat and stuff, Im sure it’ll be pretty similar.”
Stricker had managed to hold onto the 54-hole lead despite a late stumble in his third round when his putting deserted him. Still, he went into the final round three shots ahead of Jonathan Byrd.
Dustin Johnson set the early clubhouse target, shooting a final round 65 for 276, but Stricker – who previously won four out of four tournaments when holding the lead entering the final round – strengthened his grip with six birdies in 12 holes when the weather suspension came in. He was three shots clear of Jobe with Matt Kuchar (through 13 holes) four behind the leader.
