Rory McIlroy bookended his round by holing huge par putts, but an erratic two-over 72 left the world number three eight shots behind Robert MacIntyre and Ryan Fox at the RBC Canadian Open.
Scottish Ryder Cup player MacIntyre shot 66 and the powerful New Zealander Fox a brilliant 64 to lead by two shots on 10-under from Joe Dahmen at Hamilton Golf & Country Club.
But an out-of-sorts McIlroy couldn’t reproduce the bogey-free 66 of Thursday and fell from tenth to tied 30th on two-under.
Struggling to find his rhythm, he had to make an 18-footer for an opening par but bogeyed the seventh and dropped another shot at the 10th when he spun his 77-yard wedge off the green and back down the fairway.
He got a shot back with a chip and putt birdie at the 12th but bogeyed the 214-yard 13th after a pulled tee shot before finishing with five pars.
The string of pars included a 28-footer at the 18th where he hit an iron off the tee but found a deep fairway bunker.
But he now has his work cut out to catch Fox, MacIntyre and MacIntyre’s dad, Dougie, who is on the bag for the Scottish left-hander this week.
MacIntyre is between caddies, but after three top-15s in his last five starts, including a tie for eighth at the PGA Championship at Valhalla, he’s also playing well, and his father jumped at the chance to carry the bag.
“We’re trying to have as much fun as we can,” MacIntyre said. “This is an experience for the both of us, and he’s done a good job so far. It’s enjoyable. It’s taken my mind completely off the game of golf.”
MacIntyre admits he’s had a change of attitude this season and it’s made the difference.
“I’ve got the golf game to compete anywhere in the world, and I knew that,” said MacIntyre who will be heading to final qualifying for the US Open on Monday.
“There was something stopping me. There was something stopping me from competing. “We dug in deeper into stats and whatnot and we’re like, ‘Everything’s all right here, what is it?’
“And then you’ve got to look yourself in the mirror and go, ‘You might be the problem.’
“We sat down, we spoke about it, and I think my attitude was a problem. Just now I’m working hard on that, trying to just stay as even keeled and just deal with whatever comes.”
He’s also taken pity on his dad, a keen shinty player, by swapping the heavy tour bag for a light, carry bag.
“I thought 36 holes for my dad carrying that tour bag ain’t going to be pretty, so I’ve gone a bit easier on him,” MacIntyre said, thinking ahead to Monday’s US Open qualifying.
Meanwhile, a two-under back nine helped Shane Lowry card a two-under 68 and go into the weekend tied for 55th on level par, ten shots off the pace.
But there was no joy for Seamus Power, who battled his way back to level par with birdie fours at the 17th and fourth (his 13th), only to rack up a triple bogey seven at the 339-yard fifth, where he was in trouble left from the tee.
He signed for a 71 to miss the cut by three shots for his fourth missed cut from 14 starts this season.