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WGC-Workday Championship: Rory McIlroy Lights Up Back 9 Saturday

By Tim Letcher

BRADENTON, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 27: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland lines up a putt on the first green during the third round of the World Golf Championships-Workday Championship at The Concession on February 27, 2021 in Bradenton, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
BRADENTON, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 27: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland lines up a putt on the first green during the third round of the World Golf Championships-Workday Championship at The Concession on February 27, 2021 in Bradenton, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /
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Rory McIlroy played fairly well the first two days of this week’s WGC-Workday Championship in Florida. He shot 69 in Thursday’s first round at The Concession. And he followed that with a 70 on Friday. The former world number one was 5-under par through two rounds and was tied for 13th place overall, six shots behind 36-hole leader Brooks Koepka.

In the third round of the event, on Saturday, it did not appear that much was happening for McIlroy and that he would continue to linger somewhere outside the Top 10. His Saturday round started with a birdie on the par-4 first hole.

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However, McIlroy immediately gave that shot, and one more, back on the very next hole. On the par-4 second, McIlroy hit his tee shot into a fairway bunker. From there, he hit his second shot into the water. By the time he finished, it was a double bogey and McIlroy was 1-over on his round.

He would par the next four holes to remain at 1-over par. Then, something happened and McIlroy suddenly looked like the player that the entire world knows he is.

It started with a birdie on the par-5 seventh hole. Then McIlroy birdied the par-4 eighth hole to get back into red figures. A par on the ninth hole left McIlroy with a 1-under par 35 on his front nine.

McIlroy’s back nine included five threes on the scorecard, something that’s always great to see.

It started with a birdie three on the par-4 10th. McIlroy did slip back with a bogey on the par-3 11th hole, dropping back to 1-over.

But he got that shot right back with a birdie three on the 12th hole. And then, he recorded an eagle three on the 13th hole, getting to 4-under par on his round.

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McIlroy would record a par on the par-3 14th hole, followed by a birdie three on the par-4 15th hole. That left him at 5-under on his round.

His final birdie of the day came at the par-5 17th hole. McIlroy would shoot 31 on the back nine for a final total of 6-under par 66. When he finished, has five shots back of the leaders but he’s back in the mix of this event with 18 holes to play. And it’s largely thanks to an outstanding back nine on Saturday.