USA TODAY International Edition
McIlroy pleased with final- round 64
Armed with his third putter of the PGA Tour tournament, Rory McIlroy had nowhere to go but up in the final round of the Travelers Championship.
A bogey on the final hole aside, the 28- year- old Irishman could fly home Sunday afternoon a bit more optimistic about his game after a 6- under- par 64.
Even though his 6- under 274 total wasn’t a winning score, it was McIlroy’s first four- round tournament since The Players Championship in mid- May.
“I think scoring conditions were a little easier out there today, not as much wind,” he said. “I’ve been hitting the ball pretty well all four days actually. I holed a couple putts, but I still don’t feel like I holed that many. It added up to a good score at the end of the day.”
Third- round leader Jordan Spieth, who went on to win with a 268 total in a playoff, had yet to tee off when McIlroy walked up the 18th hole, where a massive crowd reserved normally for the champion awaited him at TPC River Highlands.
“I’d definitely come back again,” said McIlroy, who was making his first appearance here. “This is one of the best courses on tour. It’s a par 70. It’s fun. You can make a lot of birdies. But if you put yourself in the wrong spot, you can make bogeys quickly as well.
“The crowds out there today, I mean I teed off before 9 a. m. on a Sunday morning and ... they were really good. It was a pleasure to be here this week.”
After making a putter change before the third round, McIlroy went out and shot even par, taking the most strokes on the green all week with 33. He changed putters again before the final round, and while he still took 30 putts, he finished with seven birdies and the lone bogey.
“We’ll see, I’m not so sure,” said McIlroy, on whether he would stick with putter No. 3. “I couldn’t have gotten any worse than I was the first three days, so I just wanted to mix it up and go back to something that looked a little more familiar.”
McIlroy ditched his Spider putter in favor of the half- mallet shaped model, which he dumped the last round in favor of a blade style. “I just went back to a shape I had the most success with, so I went back to that today to see if I could conjure up any good feelings,” he said. “It felt pretty good today. I must say I felt a little more comfortable today on the greens than I have the previous three days. It might be one that stays in for a few weeks.”
After taking a week off, McIlroy will host his tournament, the Irish Open, and play the Scottish Open before the British Open, which will be played at Royal Birkdale Golf Course in Southport, England.
“From what I have seen the last couple days, it’s good,” he said of his game. “Tee to green- wise, I’m right where I need to be. Driving the ball as well as I ever have, and I’m hitting my irons pretty good. Just sharpen up the short game.”