Rory McIlroy at Players Championship 2016: Sunday Leaderboard Score, Reaction

Rory McIlroy entered Sunday needing a miracle to get back in contention for his first Players Championship victory. It never came.    

McIlroy carded a two-under score of 70 in his final round at TPC Sawgrass, ending his day in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, in relative anonymity at seven under for the tournament. The former world No. 1 went into the clubhouse in a tie for 10th place after carding his third round in four days in the 70s. Reigning No. 1 Jason Day currently holds a four-stroke lead.

While a brilliant 64 on Friday briefly put McIlroy in contention, it was largely a middle-of-the-road week. His final round in many ways mirrored his first, with a bunch of bad approaches leading to two-putts and pars. McIlroy had six holes above or below the par line, though that was enough to move him up five spots on the leaderboard.

Starting his day in 15th place, McIlroy got off to a strong start. He narrowly missed a 21-foot birdie putt on the first hole before sinking his first under-par score of the day at the par-five second. 

Unfortunately, it didn’t carry over in the way he hoped. McIlroy’s approach play quickly began rearing its head, as iron shots either left him with lengthy birdie putts or off the green entirely. From holes Nos. 3 through 8, McIlroy had only two birdie attempts inside 25 feet.

The par-five ninth offered a reprieve, as McIlroy was able to recover from an approach …

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