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McIlroy took control of the tournament with an opening-round 65
for a two-shot lead, but faltered after that and closed with a
four-over-par 76 that left him in a share of 13th place and six
shots behind winner Scottie Scheffler.
For McIlroy, who won the 2018 Arnold Palmer Invitational, the
result snapped a streak of five consecutive top-10s at Bay Hill
and dropped him to 3-for-18 when holding the 18-hole lead or
co-lead on the PGA Tour.
"I feel punch-drunk, to be honest. The weekend, it's like crazy
golf. You just don't get rewarded for good shots," McIlroy told
reporters.
"Like I'm venting here and I'm frustrated and whatever. I think
as well the frustration it's a carbon copy of what's happened
the last three years here."
McIlroy will have little time to put his performance behind him
as he heads directly to Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, for The
Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass, with a field that includes
48 of the top 50 players in world rankings.
Scoring conditions at Bay Hill were the toughest they have been
in decades and McIlroy, who picked up the most recent of his 20
PGA Tour wins last October in Las Vegas, said he is playing
better than his latest score implied.
"Like I'm playing good. I'm hitting good shots. I'm swinging the
club well. I'm chipping well. I'm putting well. But it can knock
your confidence whenever the conditions are like this," said
McIlroy.
"I just need a day off tomorrow to forget about what's happened
this week and then just sort of focus on next week."
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Kenneth
Maxwell)
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