NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. (AP) \u2014 Rory McIlroy\u2019s frustrating final round at the PGA Championship on Sunday boiled over with an angry exchange with a fan after a \u201cU-S-A!\u201d shout from the gallery at Aronimink Golf Club.<\/p>\n
An errant shot out of heavy rough at the scoreable 16th hole derailed McIlroy\u2019s come-from-behind bid, and he appeared to respond to the shout by using an expletive while telling the fan to \u201cshut up.\u201d <\/p>\n
The exchange summarized the two-time Masters champion\u2019s confounding final round. He was not alone, as Jon Rahm, Cam Smith and Xander Schauffele had their chances and failed to catch Aaron Rai.<\/p>\n
McIlroy said earlier in the week that the outlandish and abusive fan behavior he endures \u2014 like at the Ryder Cup last year \u2014 is usually limited to one week every four years, when the matches are contested in the U.S.<\/p>\n
Sunday\u2019s interaction, far less severe than what he heard at Bethpage in New York, seemingly just came at a bad time.<\/p>\n
McIlroy was three strokes behind Rai on the par-5 16th hole when his second shot out of rough from 37 yard was short and bounded into a bunker. The two-time Masters champion spun, glared at the spectator, grumbled under his breath and seemed to point out the person to security.<\/p>\n
McIlroy started the final round three strokes behind the leaders and struggled to make up ground while others were finding the Donald Ross layout scoreable. He managed just one birdie on the front nine, and after a bogey 5 at the drivable par-4 13th, managed one more birdie coming in, settling for a 69 to tie for seventh at 4 under.<\/p>\n
McIlroy didn\u2019t comment on the fan interaction, but admitted he left some strokes on the course.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think not birdieing the two par-5s and making the bogey at the drivable par-4 13th,\u201d he said. \u201cTo me, I felt like I played the golf I needed to play the rest of the way. If I birdied the two par 5s and turned that 5 into a 3 on 13, the day looks very different.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rahm, who started two strokes back, took the steam out of his three birdies on the front nine with two bogeys for a 1-under 34 at the turn. Still in contention on the back, the Spaniard reeled off six pars before making a birdie at the 16, getting to 6 under, but by that point Rai was three strokes ahead.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust wish I\u2019d have done better with the speed of the greens,\u201d said Rahm, who needed 33 putts in the final round. \u201cJust couldn\u2019t seem to get it to the hole, and that\u2019s the reason why I didn\u2019t hole any more putts.\u201d<\/p>\n
The captain of LIV Golf\u2019s Legion XIII team found the good in his four rounds after barely making the cut at the Masters and finishing 38th.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs far as I\u2019m concerned, to be in the mix again and hit it as good as I did and perform as well as I did this weekend, it\u2019s been a great week,\u201d he said. \u201cFour rounds and a par, even par, can\u2019t really ask too much more of myself. Just maybe obviously hole in a few more putts, which is not an easy task over here on these greens.\u201d<\/p>\n
Smith, who reached the weekend after missing the cut in six straight majors, bolted to 5 under with birdies at Nos. 2, 4, and 9. But his round flattened out with seven straight pars on the back before dropping another stroke at the 17th.<\/p>\n
The LIV player had weekend rounds of 68. Smith found early success when he moved to LIV with a victory in 2022 and two wins in 2023. He\u2019s winless since.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt feels great to play nice,\u201d Smith said. \u201cYou don\u2019t work hard to play crap, and it\u2019s frustrating, and the last couple of years have been frustrating. I feel like I\u2019ve been putting in the work and not really getting anything out of it.<\/p>\n
\u201cOut there today, under the pressure I felt like I was able to trust it already. So lots of positive signs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schauffele failed to gain on the leaders with pars on the first eight holes before a birdie at the ninth. Trouble struck with bogeys at Nos. 11 and 13th, and two late birdies were not enough for the 2024 PGA and British Open winner.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou really had to kind of hang tough all day and really capitalize on some small spots,\u201d he said. \u201cFor me to bogey a drivable hole there that got away from me, I was trying to be aggressive. I figured I needed to make birdie and tried to be aggressive and ended up making bogey. That\u2019s just what this course can do to you.\u201d<\/p>\n
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