Rory McIlroy declined to speak to the media for the second consecutive day at the PGA Championship after letting the Wanamaker Trophy slip through his hands following his excellent start to the tournament.
The Northern Irishman led after day one thanks to a sensational five-under-par 65 but followed it up with rounds of 71-74-68 to end at two-under-par for what looks like a top-8 finish.
McIlroy declined to speak to the media and instead simply signed his scorecard, collected his belongings from the locker room and headed for the parking lot to board a plane back to Florida.
His final round got off to the dream start with four birdies in a row from the 2nd to 5th holes to reach four-under-par and get within touching distance of the lead but he dropped shots at the next hole and the 17th to finish two-under. His bogey on 17 will have caused particular frustration because it's a drivable par-4 and his tee shot ended up greenside with a good chance at birdie. He overhit his pitch and failed to save his par from long of the green. The four-time Major winner gave himself plenty of chances throughout the day but was unable to convert his birdie putts after that lightning start.
"I gave myself a few more chances on the back nine and couldn't quite capitalize on a couple of them," he said after his one-over-par 71 on Friday, which was the last time he spoke to the media. "But those up-and-downs on 16, 17, and 18 I think were going to be really important. Just keeps me a little closer to the lead and doesn't really feel like I've got such a mountain to climb if I had have maybe dropped one or two over those last three holes. Yeah, there's a long way to go, a lot of golf left."
In the end, it's another Major performance from the Northern Irishman that has shown great promise but left him empty handed. He'll be ruing his third round 74 in particular, which featured both a triple and a double bogey.
His next start will likely be at Muirfield Village in the Memorial Tournament in two weeks' time.
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