Rory’s brave turnaround comes up shy

Rory McIlroy saw his hopes of a successful PGA Championship title defence hit the rocks last night as Jason Dufner was attempting to protect a two-shot lead down the stretch at Oak Hill.

Dufner, 36, had shared the 54-hole lead at the 2011 PGA in Atlanta and had a five-shot lead with four holes to play only to lose a play-off to Keegan Bradley, and he was defending a two-stroke lead with the tough finish to play, although his nearest rivals were failing to make inroads over the closing holes.

McIlroy, 24, had put himself in with a chance of victory with a third-round, three-under-par 67 on Saturday that left him on three under for the week, six shots behind 54-hole leader Jim Furyk at the start of yesterday's play.