NO GLOSS FINISH FOR McILROY OR WESTWOOD IN HONDA CLASSIC

Rory McIlroy look far removed from the tag of one of the world's best young tour pros when he doubled bogey three holes in a row to run up a seven-over-par 77 in the third round of the US PGA Tour's Honda Classic over the PGA National's Champions Course at Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

The Ulsterman, pictured, has admitted in the past that he finds it hard to motivate himself when he is out of contention in a tournament - and that's how it looked today after his first and second rounds of 73 and 71 had got him through the halfway cut but precious little else.
McIlroy did not have a single birdie on his card. He bogeyed the fourth and sixth on his way to a two-over-par 37 outward half. Then he steadied the ship with a string of pars before playing the last three holes - two of them par-3s - like a 24-handicapper.
He had a double bogey 5 at the short 15th.
Then he had a double bogey 6 at the par-4 16th.
To cap it all Rory had a double bogey 5 at the short 17th.
The inward half cost McIlroy 40 shots and a 77 put him on 11-over-par 221.
Deposed world No 1 Lee Westwood did only marginally better and he is certainly not going to retain the top spot from Martin Kaymer at the end of this tournament.
Counting from the 13th hole in his second round to the sixth hole in his third, Westwood was six over par for these 12 holes.
He bogeyed the long third, the fourth and sixth en route to a three-over 38 today. Birdies at the 12th and 14th were more like to "old" Westwood and then he did a "Rory McIlroy" with a terrible finish over the last four holes - he bogeyed the 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th for a 75 and a 54-hole tally of 214 which left him alongside another out-of-touch star Graeme McDowell on 214. They are joint 30th and 13 shots behind the third-round leader, South African Rory Sabbatini who surged five shots clear of the field with a 66 for nine-under-par 201, having set a course-record 64 on Friday.
Overnight leader Kyle Stanley fell away after rounds of 68 and 66 to a 74 for 208.

THIRD-ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 210 (3x70)
201 Rory Sabbatini (S Africa) 71 64 66.
206 Y E Yang (S Korea) 68 71 67, Jerry Kelly (US) 71 67 68.
207 Gary Woodland (US) 71 68 68.
208 Kyle Stanley (US) 68 66 74.
Selected totals:
213 Luke Donald (England) 73 68 72 (T23).
214 Graeme McDowell (N Ireland) 73 71 70, Lee Westwood (England) 70 69 75 (T30)
218 Ian Poulter (England) 71 72 75 (T53).
221 Rory McIlroy (N Ireland) 73 71 77 (T65). 

224 Ernie Els (S Africa) 75 71 78.

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