So that is it. It is official. Rory McIlroy has gone the full 10 years without winning a major and in this barren run, he might well have saved the worst until last.
The 152nd Open Championship was beyond dreadful for McIlroy. A 78-75 for an 11-over total and a big, fat MC.
The world No 2 arrived at the Ayrshire links claiming he was confident that he could end the drought that goes all the way to the last Big Four event of 2014 – the USPGA, his fourth major – and that he could bounce back from the crippling disappointment of last month’s US Open, where two short missed putts in the final three holes handed the title to Bryson DeChambeau.
Alas, his inconsiderable efforts did not even qualify as a dead-cat bounce. Needing a score under par following his six-over beginning, the only comeback Troon witnessed was McIlroy coming back and doing the same again. Until it was too late, of course and he birdied the 14th and 16th to send himself soaring into the top 130. The damage was wrecked early.
McIlroy parred the first two holes, bogeyed the third and then on the fourth came the triple-bogey that extinguished whatever fragments of hope remained.
That par five summed up his week. He pulled his drive into the thick stuff and could only advance his ball two yards with his second. At least he located the fairway with his third, but from 175 yards he missed the green on the left and was soon sending it across the green into a bunker with his fifth. Splash out, two putts, regulation snowman.
It was over, but as if determined to make sure, McIlroy conjured a wedge from 51 yards on the next par five, the sixth, that was simply stunning in its wretchedness. It looked to be as wide as the length of the third shot in the first place.
McIlroy laughed. It was so bad, he could not even raise himself to annoyance. He had dropped five shots in four holes when he was supposed to picking them up. From there it was a slow, depressing walk to the clubhouse, punctuated by two irrelevant figures in red. He had 10 footer for a birdie on the 18th. It dribbled past.
Oh no, Rory 😫 pic.twitter.com/KmDZA7iuWL
— Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) July 19, 2024
Obviously I got off to the worst start possible being six over through six but I then went bogey free for the rest of the round,” he said. “The wind got the better of me on the Friday at Augusta and then again yesterday on the back nine and this afternoon going out in that gusty wind on the front
“Once I made the eighth, I was thinking about where I was going on vacation next week. I knew from then. I resigned myself to the fact I wasn’t going to make the cut. It was a pretty meaningless 14 holes after that but at least I played ok.”
McIlroy might take consolation from the other heavyweights joining him in the exodus and not only Tiger Woods on 14-over with a 77. DeChambeau, Ludvig Aberg and Tommy Fleetwood, all crashing out on nine-over. They could figure it was a strange week, an odd tournament and hey, at that level, you have to grab the positives from wherever you can.
In McIlroy’s absence, the Irish will have Shane Lowry to cheer, the 37-year-old shooting a 69 to reach seven-under and stand two ahead of English duo Justin Rose (68) and rank outsider Dan Brown (72). It is the first time since 1951 that the top three at the Open halfway mark are all from Britain and Ireland. Three strokes further back to a group in fourth, most notably world No 1 Scottie Scheffler (70).
