McIlroy bounces back with 69

Rory McIlroy bounced back from his “flat” opening 73 with a three under 69 but he still finished the day 10 shots behind leader Bubba Watson in the WGC-Cadillac Championship at the TPC Blue Monster in Doral.

The world No 1 began the day tied for 35th on one over but he moved up just seven places to 28th alongside Graeme McDowell (67) despite firing an eagle and five birdies on a day when Bubba Watson blasted a 10 under 62 to lead by a shot from Justin Rose on 12 under par.

“I got off to a good start and couldn’t quite keep it going, but felt like I played some good shots out there,” said McIlroy, who started eagle-birdie before playing the next 16 holes in level par. “Just didn’t hole many putts.”