Rory McIlroy’s ball goes backwards in a bunker, so he chucks it in a pond

Rory McIlroy started the final round of the Deutsche Bank Championship as the favorite to win his fourth event in his last five starts. After a Sunday third round 64, McIlroy rocketed up the leaderboard and into third place. But on a course that suits McIlroy’s game perfectly, the four-time major winner is struggling to charge at the leaders, and has actually receded into eighth place.

TPC Boston is one of the longest courses on any tour, but it’s gettable and especially soft today after some overnight rains. It’s not uncommon to see rounds in the low 60s. This is all perfect for Rory’s game. He’s the longest and best driver in the world, and he hits a high ball that takes advantage of soft conditions. The one part of his game that could use a little more work, and he admitted this during that three-straight-win hot streak, is his form out of the sand.

It was in a bunker at the sixth that his final round hopes took a hit. This sloppiness out of the sand, however, was less a result of that weakness in his game and more just Rory getting a little too greedy. After driving it right into a fairway bunker, McIlroy took a low-lofted club and tried to rip one over the lip and up towards the hole. His ball ended up going backwards, half-plugging back into the sand. He’d then take his medicine and just pop a wedge out into the fairway.

Rory would make a pretty good bogey for lying three in the fairway, but it was his second straight to put a big dent in his final round upward move. So he took it out on his golf ball.

Those back-to-back- bogeys were followed up by two straight birdies, which are always available on this course. But he’s not posted a red number since, and two back nine bogeys likely end his chances completely. This missed bunny par putt 12th should just about do it.