As Rory McIlroy continues to wait for his next Major triumph, he insists that he’ll leave Carnoustie positive after a solid week in Scotland.
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The Northern Irishman remains stuck on four Majors with his last coming four years ago at The Open.
Now, he’ll add another 2018 miss to his CV after his failure to seal the deal at The Masters – he entered the final day three behind Patrick Reed in the final group before finishing six off the pace – and now finishing two short of Francesco Molinari’s mark on the Angus coast.
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‘I don’t really feel like it’s a defeat,’ said McIlroy.
‘I feel like it’s a good week. One guy out of 156 is going to win, 155 other guys are going to leave a little disappointed. I committed to everything. I hit the shots when I needed to. I made good swings on the 17th and 18th.
‘You know, it just wasn’t to be – I just ran out of holes.’
Before that final rather poor wedge into the 72nd hole, McIlroy bogeyed the 2nd and 5th holes before roaring – quite literally – into the picture with birdies at the 9th, 11th and a sensational eagle on the 14th. A string of pars followed before his bid to set the clubhouse lead fizzled out on the 18th.
‘My mindset was “go and spoil the party here”,’ said McIlroy.
‘It gives me a lot of encouragement going into the final Major of the year.
‘I didn’t get off to a great start, but I hung in there, and I battled back.’
