McIlroy’s wild ride leads him on fringe of PGA contention

By DAVE SKRETTA
AP Sports Writer

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — First-round leader Rory McIlroy’s stellar start turned into a stunning slide down the leaderboard. He offset four birdies with three bogeys, a double and a triple during his wild ride around Southern Hills on Saturday. By the time he missed a 15-footer for par at the 18th that left him with a 4-over 74, McIlroy found himself nine shots back of Mito Pereira. McIlroy thinks he has a shot on a course that has produce wild scores in both directions. The largest final-round deficit overcome in a major is 10 shots, when Paul Lawrie came back to force a playoff with Jean Van de Velde and win the 1999 British Open.