Frustrated McIlroy turns 'a 65 into a 70' at U.S. Open

By Mark Lamport-Stokes UNIVERSITY PLACE, Washington (Reuters) - Rory McIlroy carded his best score of the week at the U.S. Open on Saturday, but was disappointed with a level-par 70 that he felt should have been at least five strokes better. The world number one picked up two shots on the front nine, including a 25-footer on the second hole, but squandered several opportunities after the turn as he ran up two bogeys for a four-over total of 214 after three rounds. "It took a while to hole one (a putt) there," McIlroy told reporters after celebrating a 10-foot par putt on the 18th green at a firm and fast-running Chambers Bay. "I missed seven good chances on the back nine, or seven makeable putts anyway. "It was just nice to see one drop at the last there. I feel like I turned a 65 into a 70 today. Just real disappointed." The heavily contoured, blotchy greens on the links-style layout have been widely criticised by the players, and Swedish world number six Henrik Stenson said it was "pretty much like putting on broccoli" after the second round. "I don't think they're as green as broccoli, I think they're more like cauliflower," McIlroy said with a smile. "They are what they are, everyone has to putt on them. It's all mental. "Some guys embrace it more than others, and that's really the way it is. It is disappointing that they're not in a bit better shape but the newer greens, like seven and 13, they're perfect." McIlroy, bidding for his fifth major victory, felt that good putting at Chambers Bay was all about staying positive. Momentum could quickly slip away with a tentative approach, he said. "Whenever you start to miss a couple, you start to get a little tentative," said the 26-year-old Northern Irishman, who romped to victory by eight strokes in the 2011 U.S. Open at Congressional. "You start to doubt yourself. You start to doubt the greens a little bit. And then it just sort of snowballs from there. "I holed a few nice ones early on, but once I missed a couple it got into my head and couldn't really get out of it." (Editing by Gene Cherry)