JOHNS CREEK, GA. - Despite a three-over-par 73 in a round brought to you by duct tape, Rory McIlroy still thinks he can win the PGA Championship.

With both his right wrist and his chances of actually winning this thing heavily taped up, McIlroy is making things interesting at the Atlanta Athletic Club where the leaderboard is looking more Mayakoba Classic than major. By mid-afternoon, only three former winners of majors -- Davis Love III, Trevor Immelman and Jim Furyk -- were among the top 30.

"I feel as if I can still make birdies out there," said the 22-year-old McIlroy, who strained a tendon when his club hit a tree root playing a shot on the third hole Thursday and rated his health at 70-75%.

"You know, if I don't think I can contend, I probably wouldn't be playing. So I feel as if there's a decent one out there (Saturday), a 66 or a 65, get myself back into red numbers and maybe shoot something similar on Sunday and see where that leaves me."

The optimism of youth, eh? McIlroy was three-over for the tournament and sitting at the cut line when he finished his round.

Golf Channel/CBS comedian and part-time analyst David Feherty observed: "Fortunately, he's only 22 years old, so his right wrist should be the strongest muscle in his body."

McIlroy, who admitted if it wasn't a major he would have pulled the chute Thursday, decided to play after an MRI Thursday night revealed he had suffered "only" a strained tendon. The club hit the root and went flying out of his hands when he tried to hit the ball Thursday and mistimed his attempt at letting the club go.

"Looking back on it, you know, hindsight is a great thing," he said. "It was a mistake in judgment. I thought I would be able to get away with it, let go of the club at impact and hopefully it would be OK. But it's hard to let go at the right moment, the club coming down so fast.

"(I) just let go a little bit too late and jarred the rest with the tree root."

When told there was some media chatter that his caddie -- whom McIlroy had defended on Twitter a couple of weeks ago after criticism of on-course decisions -- should have talked him out of the shot, McIlroy replied: "He's my caddie, not my father."

He showed up Friday with the wrist taped up and, as it turned out, it wasn't his full swing that gave him most of the trouble Friday but his putting stroke. The silver lining, one could suppose, was that because of the injury he wasn't going to be able to hit balls and about the only thing he could do was work on his putting.

"It was very frustrating," he said. "I felt like I'm hitting the ball OK. I gave myself a few chances, but I just didn't putt well at all. I'm struggling on the greens this week and sort of struggled on them a little bit last week, as well."

McIlroy said his wrist was stiff but not painful when he woke up Friday morning. He said it hurt more not to be able to his best and wasn't worried about it over the long term.

"Chubby" Chandler, McIlroy's agent, said he had no problem with McIlroy playing. Chandler was told playing probably wouldn't make it worse.

"It might just put his rehab back a week," Chandler told QMI Agency, adding he probably wouldn't have been able to talk McIlroy out of the shot or continuing to play, for that matter.

"He's attempting a shot 90% of the field wouldn't take," Chandler said. "That's probably what makes him fun."

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Chris Stevenson

National Hockey Writer

Sun Media

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