Rory McIlroy Collapses at Genesis Invitational as Putting Woes Resurface

Rory McIlroy had his worst putting round in 10 years on Saturday, February 15. That played a big part in his 2-over third round at the Genesis Invitational, dropping him four places on the leaderboard, where he is now tied for 8th with four other players, including World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.

McIlroy carded one double bogey, two bogeys and two birdies. He posted a -3.9 in Stroke Gained: Putting, his worst round in that statistic since the 2014 Wells Fargo Championship, where he had a round of 4.18, according to golf statistician Justin Ray.

The Northern Irishman needed 32 putts to complete the Genesis Invitational’s third round. He three-putted two holes, the 6th, where he carded a bogey, and the 16th, which ended in a double bogey. He missed nearly 18% of his putts inside 10 feet and had 11 birdie putts that he could not capitalize on.

Despite the setback, McIlroy is five shots off the pace set by Patrick Rodgers, who tops the leaderboard on 8-under. The Northern Irishman will tee off in the final round at 1:20 p.m. Eastern Time, sharing the group with Scottie Scheffler, who also had his worst round in years on Saturday.

A day earlier, it was a very different story for McIlroy, who carded seven birdies and two bogeys for a 5-under 67 in the second round. It was an excellent result considering the conditions at Torrey Pines, the event’s alternate venue, but McIlroy acknowledged he didn’t take full advantage of the par 5s:

“B-plus,” McIlroy said. “I hit a lot of really good shots, I played well for the most part, I scrambled well. I just didn’t take advantage of the par 5s, I only made one birdie on 9, hit it in the fairway on 6 and didn’t make birdie and then didn’t birdie the two par 5s on the back nine.”

“Look, I made up for it in other places, which was nice, but I know going into the weekend I’m going to have to play the par 5s better.”

The first round was also solid for McIlroy, who carded two birdies and two bogeys for an even-par 72.

The Northern Irishman has an impressive record on the South Course at Torrey Pines, with three top 10s (two top 5s) in four starts. One of those finishes was a seventh place at the 2021 U.S. Open, while the other three came at the Farmers Insurance Open.

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