Rory McIlroy was left with regrets after an error-prone final round saw his hopes of winning the Charles Schwab Challenge quickly vanish as Daniel Berger edged out Collin Morikawa in a play-off as the PGA Tour returned.

Berger was gifted the tournament after Morikawa’s short miss on the first play-off hole, compounding a poor putting performance after failing to drain a short putt on the 18th hole to claim the win in regulation holes.

World number one McIlroy began the day three shots off the lead but struggled over the front nine en route to a four-over-par 74 at Colonial Country Club that left him at six under for the week and in a share of 32nd place.

Not only was McIlroy unable to mount a charge but he also finished the week four shots back of South African namesake Rory Sabbatini, who shot a bogey-free, five-under-par 65 to finish the Charles Schwab Challenge in a share of 14th place.

“I got off to a really bad start,” said McIlroy. “Hit a loose second shot on the first hole up to the right and then sort of messed around and took bogey there, so not the ideal start.”

The four-times major champion came into the week with plenty of confidence as he had six top-10 finishes in his six starts on the PGA Tour this season, including a win at the WGC-HSBC Champions event last November in Shanghai.

Yet McIlroy never gave himself a chance on Sunday as he opened his final round with a bogey and then dropped another five shots over a miserable six-hole stretch that put him at six over for the day heading into the turn.

McIlroy responded with a birdie at the 10th hole but by then the damage was already done. After a bogey at 15 McIlroy birdied two of his final three holes and will now focus on next week’s RBC Heritage in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.

“The wind was up today. You didn’t have to be that much off for it to sort of show, and missed a couple of greens in the wrong spots and made bogeys,” said McIlroy.

“You know, sort of played all the way to the end, shot a decent back nine. I was a couple under on the back,” said McIlroy. “But front nine I just got into a rut and played a bad run of holes, and obviously that put me out of the tournament.”

Berger, meanwhile, was thrilled to get over the line and capture his third title after overcoming an injury-hit spell which saw him tumble down the world rankings in the last few years.

“I’m glad no one talks about it, because it’s definitely harder to go out there and win when you’re worried about it,” Berger said after winning a playoff on the first extra hole.

“There was so many times today where I could have given it up or let the pressure get to me, but I hung in there and I played practically some of the best golf I’ve played the last six years the last five holes today.”

Reuters contributed to this report

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