RORY MCILROY PRODUCED another strong finish at a Major championship after a slow start had left him playing catch up, while Shane Lowry enjoyed similar fortunes on Sunday at Bethpage Black.  

Opening rounds of 72 and 71 had seen McIlroy fall off the pace at the US PGA Championship, but a pair of weekend 69s left the world number four relatively pleased with his lot at the end of the week.

McIlroy carded three birdies and two bogeys on Sunday to finish on one-over par, which saw him record a top-10 finish.

“It’s so tough out there, but I’ve moved up the leaderboard quite a lot, and my goal at the start of the day was to get into the top 10,” he said.

“I played well and it was a good way to finish off the week.”

Lowry, meanwhile, signed for a third consecutive round in the sixties [69, 68, 69] to surge up the leaderboard and, like McIlroy, finish the tournament on one-over par.

Given his 75 on Thursday, it turned out to be another encouraging week for the Offaly native, who finished in a tie for eighth. 

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