At the 17th his ball appeared destined for the lake that protects the front of the signature par three. Maybe a gust of divine wind or some other celestial force gave his ball the shove it needed to breach the water and make dry land. The laughter that creased his face was 100 per cent relief. But it was short lived.
Donald found the sand off the tee at the last and water with his second. The result was a double bogey. He is still in contention. No one walks off this course without scars, not at this end of the equation, and at one under par he can go again in the final round on Sunday with hope in his heart, but it was not what it might or should have been.
On the plus side, in attitude and technique Donald has the attributes required to tackle the challenge ahead. This course is too tight for the bombers and the greens are too slippery for the ham-fisted.
A velvet touch is the requirement and Donald is nothing if not impeccably smooth with a putter in his hand. And on the evidence of the 17th hole last he might yet go forth with the luck required to prevail.
Rory McIlroy heads to New York on Monday for a second opinion on the wrist injury that wrecked his US PGA Championship challenge. The Northern Irishman made light of the strained tendon in his right arm after a third round 74. “I wish it was hurting more, then I could have had an excuse,” he joked on the steps of the scorer’s hut.
Rest is the ultimate cure. He has a two-week window before returning at one of his favourite events of the year, the Omega European Masters in Switzerland.
If the wrist injury is not right by then it will not be risked. “After my final round I probably won’t hit balls for the next two weeks to give myself every chance. I want to play but there is still a lot to accomplish this year. The win at the US Open was great but I want to win a few more times to consider this a good year,” McIlroy said.
Any chance of emulating the experience of Congressional came to grief on that tree root on the third hole on Thursday.
Though McIlroy pointed out his best score came when the discomfort was at its height, managing an impaired limb in this company made it impossible for him to throw punches.
The pain has eased considerably and only a light strapping was required for the third round, but he still could not fully commit to his iron shots.
“I find that I drove the ball pretty well today. I found it fine hitting off a tee because you’re not going into the ground and you’re not taking a divot. I find that OK. It’s when I start to hit iron shots that it becomes difficult.”
The return to America represented a line drawn after his travails in the Open at Sandwich and at his home. It was good, he said last week, to be back at work unfettered by the escalating McIlroy mania and hoopla that enveloped him back home.
As he laboured through the third round, a day marked in contrast to the last time he contested a major on this continent, McIlroy began to learn the real meaning of hard work.
His day began with a three-putt at the first for a double bogey. The momentum he was seeking to hitch a ride on to the leaderboard became a drag. If there is a question mark hanging over McIlroy it his ability to engage when out of contention or when conditions do not suit.
The wrist injury militated against him here. He guessed it cost him 25 to 30 per cent capacity, maybe more when factoring in the mental strain of managing the injury and the associated disappointment.
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