Rory McIlroy misfires in final group again

KAPALUA, Hawaii – It was like 2018 all over again for Rory McIlroy. The former FedExCup champion wanted to rectify his final group woes at the Sentry Tournament of Champions to open 2019 but alas he just continued where he left off in 2018. On six occasions around the world last year McIlroy played in the final group in the final round and in all six he failed to win. He talked about needing patience in those moments. But on Sunday in Kapalua he may have been too patient as he started three off the lead but was overtaken from behind. Only five of the 33 players in the field shot worse than McIlroy’s 1-under 72 in calmer conditions. Winner Xander Schauffele shot 62. The average was 69.7. It dropped McIlroy to a T4 finish on debut in Maui. “My attitude was much better today, I didn’t press at all, I was very patient, it’s just something I’m going to have to persist in, just keep putting myself in these positions and honestly, I don’t think anyone could have beaten Xander today,â€� McIlroy said. “Obviously I could have shot a better score, but I did what I wanted to do. I gave myself plenty of chances, I hit most of the fairways, I hit most of the greens, just couldn’t get the ball to drop.â€� After three rounds of decent putting McIlroy ranked 27th in the field Sunday in Strokes Gained: Putting making just 31-feet of total putts. “Anything that was right-to-left I missed on the high side and anything left-to-right I missed on the low side. So Just one of those days where it just didn’t happen,â€� he said. “I’m going to go home and sort of reflect on this week and reflect on what was good and what maybe wasn’t so good and work on a few things and come back out and having learned a little more about my game than I knew coming into this week.â€� MUST-READS Schauffele embraces underdog mentality Woodland rues missed chance

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