This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/may/10/rory-mcilroy-suffers-front-nine-players-championship

The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Rory McIlroy suffers during front nine again at Players Championship Martin Kaymer and Jordan Spieth share Players Championship lead
(about 3 hours later)
The opening nine holes here may well be the first entry into Rory McIlroy's Room 101. His losing battle with that stretch continued on Saturday as he reached the turn in 38. What happened next had become predictable: McIlroy played the back nine in 31, leaving him on three under for Players Championship, which renders a top-10 finish as a legitimate aspiration. But only if McIlroy starts considerably better on Sunday than over the first three days. The first Saturday blink in the duel between Martin Kaymer and Jordan Spieth arrived on the 18th green. As Kaymer's par putt slid left of the hole, he was left in an overnight tie with Spieth at 12 under par. Moments earlier, Spieth had holed out from the fringe. Parity seemed fitting. This proved an engaging, if never thrilling, third-round battle that will spill into the Players Championship's final day. Kaymer is seeking to endorse his return to form with a first victory on the PGA Tour since 2011. Should Spieth triumph, he would be the youngest winner in the history of the event. All that is missing in the rapid rise to prominence of the 20-year-old Spieth is success in a high-profile event.
"I don't know, Kryptonite, maybe?" McIlroy replied with a smile when asked to explain his Jekyll and Hyde performance. He is 12 under par over three rounds for the back nine. "It has definitely been a game of two halves for me this week," he added. "I don't know what it is – I can't seem to get my head around the front nine here but the back nine I am really comfortable on. I have played the front nine in nine over and back nine in 12 under, which is something I can't explain." Spieth could create history even before close of play on Sunday. He has played 54 holes without a single dropped shot, moving him to within 12 of the tournament record established by Greg Norman two decades ago.
That McIlroy is producing birdies at all, and recovering from setbacks mid-round, are worthy of credit. If there is an annoyance for McIlroy, it is that another tournament will pass by without the victory he is anxious for. "There are loads of positives in there," McIlroy said. "I played the last 12 holes in seven under par to shoot something in the 60s for the first time this week so I have to be happy with that. Kaymer's third-round 72 was his highest score of the tournament. Until his aberration on the last, caused by a pushed tee shot from which he could not recover, the former world No1 had appeared in perfect control of his game and emotions. "Today felt a bit like a Ryder Cup match," said Kaymer. "Jordan is one of the best players out here right now, so I think he deserves at much attention as possible because he's a young player, very mature, and I hope he has a long career ahead of him. And for me if there's less attention on me right now, I'll take it."
"I played pretty well, I only missed two greens in the first seven holes and all of a sudden I was four over par. The mistakes were just big mistakes. That's the nature of this place, that's a Pete Dye course. Spieth, who had maintained his unblemished record time and again with Saturday par saves, bettered that by a stroke. The Texan's solitary birdie had arrived on the par-5 11th.
"If you start missing on the wrong side, all of a sudden you have an impossible up and down and are trying to make bogey, then get out of there. I haven't missed it in the bad spots on the back nine. I have to try and do the same on the front nine tomorrow." Not that the denouement of golf's so-called fifth major should automatically be categorised as a two-horse race. A batch of players perfectly capable of winning sit within five shots of the leaders. Should Kaymer and Spieth stumble, danger lies behind. Sergio García's delight at carding a 69 was evident with a fist-pump at the 18th green. "I still would have been happy with 70," Garcia said. "But I had dropped a shot on the 17th; to finish bogey-bogey would have felt bitter."
McIlroy was subsequently prompted on what has developed into the talking point of this tournament: Adam Scott's recent marriage. The Australian's post-Masters nuptials had been a secret until Friday, which from Scott's point of view was perfectly understandable given the subsequent and frenzied reaction. Lee Westwood lies two shots further back, despite bogeying the last. There was an even more cruel end to day three for Justin Rose, who was retrospectively punished two strokes after magnified television replays deemed his ball to have moved as he addressed it through the back of the 18th green. Rose's 71 became a 73, knocking him back to five under.
"I knew about it a couple of weeks ago but it wasn't my business to go around telling anyone," McIlroy said. "I actually had breakfast with Adam this morning. He was having a laugh, telling me about all the lies he told to keep things under wraps." Rory McIlroy's love-hate relationship with this venue continued, after a front nine of 38 was followed up by turning for home in seven shots fewer. McIlroy has played the back half in 12 under par over the first three days of The Players; thereby endorsing his woes earlier on the course. "It has definitely been a game of two halves for me this week," McIlroy said. "I don't know what it is, I can't seem to get my head around the front nine here but the back nine I am really comfortable on.
Scott sits on the same 36-hole score as McIlroy and so still has a chance of claiming No1 spot in the world rankings from Tiger Woods. Scott's biggest threats here will come from the performances of Matt Kuchar and Henrik Stenson, who also have eyes on Woods's position. "It depends on other guys, too," said Scott of his quest after a 69. "It's just not set in stone. So the goal tomorrow has got to be to, depending upon conditions, to try and get to double digits under par. It's possible, I'll be off fairly early probably again. I have to try and sneak up there as high as I possibly can. You never know what's going to happen out here but I still think I can have a high finish. I'm not going to study leaderboards just to do some math on rankings. I'm just going to play and see what happens." "There are loads of positives in there. I played the last 12 holes in seven under par today to shoot something in the 60s for the first time this week so I have to be happy with that."
Ian Poulter slipped to a closing nine of 39 for a one under par, 54-hole total. Ernie Els is four shots worse off than Poulter after a third round of 75. Adam Scott lies on the same aggregate score as McIlroy, three under, and therefore retains aspirations of dislodging Tiger Woods from the No1 spot in golf's world rankings. Scott could, though, still be upstaged in that quest by Matt Kuchar, Bubba Watson or Henrik Stenson. That trio all sit on a five under.