Published Sunday, 14 August 2011
Three days after injuring his arm attempting a shot against a tree root, the 22-year-old US Open champion ran up a triple-bogey seven.
He had failed to par the hole in any round and on 10 over par for the final major of the year only four of the 75 players left in were below him.
They included England's Paul Casey, first out and playing with a marker for the second day running. He turned in a one-over 36 to stand 13 over and was joint last with American Shaun Micheel, winner in 2003 and lying third after his opening 66.
For his triple bogey McIlroy had gone over the green from a bunker and then three-putted from only three feet, but he got one of the shots back on the sixth.
The tee had been moved forward over 100 yards to make it driveable and the world number four avoided the lake on the left and finished less than 12 feet from the flag, although missed his eagle attempt.
He was playing with England's Ross Fisher, whose only deviation from par on the first seven holes was a birdie at the short fourth to move to five over.
From being in hospital on Thursday McIlroy was in hospitality at the ninth, his fairway bunker shot flying over the green into one of the tented dining units.
The hole cost him a bogey, as had the eighth, but after turning in 39 he birdied the 11th and 12th to get back to nine over.
Fisher also bogeyed eight and nine before starting for home with back-to-back birdies. He was five over, while Padraig Harrington, out in 36, double-bogeyed the 11th to stand 12 over.
Casey shot 72 for the third time in the week, but his Saturday 78 meant he finished 14 over and joint last as Micheel played the last.