Rory McIlroy was enjoying a solid round on moving day at the Cognizant Classic, firing four birdies during a 5-hole run from the 9th hole through the 13th that allowed him to get into prime contention with a score of 10-under par. However, McIlroy took a bogey on the par-3 15th hole and followed that with a disastrous triple bogey on the par-4 16th hole.
The superstar golfer, currently ranked second in world, had pulled within two strokes of the lead in the tournament. However, after his bogey on 15, McIlroy saw his game fall apart.
It didn’t look like that would be the case after his tee shot hit the middle of the fairway. However, he pushed his second shot into the water and McIlroy exacerbated the problem when he attempted to hit the floating ball out of the hazard.
After removing his right shoe and sock, Rory McIlroy made contact with the ball, but it rebounded back into the hazard and he was forced to take a penalty stroke. When he was unable to sink the ensuing putt, he had to take a 7 on his scorecard.
Rory McIlroy made a par on the 17th and birdied the 18th hole and finished the round with a score of 72. He is seven under par for the tournament, six strokes behind Shane Lowry, Austin Eckroat and upstart David Skinns.
Lowry and Skinns fired Saturday rounds of 66, while Eckroat shot a 68. All three of the leaders have fired rounds of 69 or better on all three days of the tournament.
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