“Could have been right up there”- Rory McIlroy ‘disappointed’ with his back-9 play after failing to climb up the leaderboard at the 2024 Scottish Open

Genesis Scottish Open – Day Three
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland at Genesis Scottish Open – Day Three (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
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Rory McIlroy was disappointed after not being able to climb the leaderboard after his performance in the third round of the 2024 Genesis Scottish Open. The 42nd edition of the tournament is being played at the Renaissance Club in North Berwick, Scotland.

McIlroy carded 3-under 67 in the third round of the 2024 Genesis Scottish Open. He secured five birdies in the first ten holes but failed to score afterward. After the round, Mcllroy was asked if he could have done better, he said (via ASAP Sports):

“Yeah, it is. 4-under through 10 today, and then yeah, similar sort of — the birdies dried up. Kept hitting good shots. Especially the last few holes. Missed, I think I had three 8-footers on 15, 16, 17 for birdie that I didn’t convert, and you know, bogey on the last.”
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He scored four birdies in the front nine on the 3rd, 5th, 6th, and 9th holes and a bogey on the 4th hole. Mcllroy scored a birdie on the 10th hole and a bogey on the 18th hole on the back nine.

Rory McIlroy said that he played poorly on the last four holes of the back nine. He is positioned 8th with an aggregate score of 12-under 198 after the third round. He said that he could have been near the lead at 15-under par if he had done better.

“The last four holes, I’ve probably played them the worst that I could, which is unfortunate because I felt like I could have been right up there, sort of at 15-under around the lead, and to give one away at the last is disappointing,” Mcllroy said.
However, the World No. 2 was still optimistic and said:

“But depending what the guys do coming in, I’ll be within three or four, and at least still have a shot if I get off to a good start tomorrow,” he remarked.
When asked what he wants to do differently in the final round at the Renaissance Club, Rory McIlroy said:

“I think just converting the chances that I’m giving myself. If I look back the last two days, especially on the back nine, I’ve given myself some chances and I haven’t converted. Felt like I have definitely left a few out there all three days but especially yesterday and today.”
He didn’t score a birdie on the last five holes in the second round as well. Ludvig Aberg is on the top of the leaderboard after the third round with a score of 17-under 193. MacIntyre is in the second position with two shots behind with a score of 15-under 195. Adam Scott is in third position with a score of 14-under 196.

A look at Rory McIlroy’s performance in 2024
Rory McIlroy has had a terrific 2024 season. Mcllroy has had three wins, six top-10, and 13 top-25 finishes this year.

Rory McIlroy has won two PGA Tour events and one DP World Tour event. Mcllroy won the Wells Fargo Championship and Zurich Classic of New Orleans with Shane Lowry. He also won the Hero Dubai Desert Classic at the beginning of the year.

Let’s take a look at Rory McIlroy’s performance in the 2024 season so far:

2024 PGA TOUR Tournaments
AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am: T66 (71-74-69, 214, -2)
The Genesis Invitational: T24 (74-66-69-70, 279, -5)
Cognizant Classic: T21 (67-67-72-68, 274, -10)
Arnold Palmer Invitational pres. by Mastercard: T21 (73-70-68-76, 287, -1)
THE PLAYERS Championship: T19 (65-73-69-72, 279, -9)
Valero Texas Open: 3 (69-70-72-66, 277, -11)
Masters Tournament: T22 (71-77-71-73, 292, +4)
RBC Heritage: T33 (67-68-68-74, 277, -7)
Wells Fargo Championship: 1 (67-68-67-65, 267, -17)
PGA Championship: T12 (66-71-68-67, 272, -12)
RBC Canadian Open: T4 (66-72-65-64, 267, -13)
the Memorial Tournament pres. by Workday: T15 (70-71-73-76, 290, +2)
U.S. Open: 2 (65-72-69-69, 275, -5)
Genesis Scottish Open: T8 (65-66-67, 198, -12)
2023-24 DP World Tournaments
Dubai Invitational: T2 (62-70-67-67, 266, -18)
Hero Dubai Desert Classic: 1 (71-70-63-70, 274, -14)
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Edited by Shirsh