Rory McIlroy missed his third cut in four starts after bowing out of the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open ahead of The Open next week.
Again, it ended with a poor putt – a carbon copy of his struggles in recent weeks as he failed to live up to his star billing once again at the Dundonald Links.
His tournament ended with a pulled putt that missed the hole by some distance.
‘I knew what that last putt meant,’ McIlroy sighed. ‘I knew the cut was going from one under to even and back again. I just pulled the whatever off it. It was a terrible putt.’
He heads to Birkdale earlier than scheduled with more questions than ever before, with his season ravaged by a rib injury picked up in South Africa in January.
‘I haven’t had enough tournament rounds this year with the injury,’ the Northern Irishman said. ‘I’ve missed a lot of events. So it’s been tough. And I’ve been playing catch-up all year. I just haven’t played enough. I’d love to have played more.’
‘I’m frustrated, but at the same time I thought I saw some good signs out there,’ says the world number three.
‘My putting improved this week, compared to last week. My wedge play, too. But there is still room for improvement. It’s not that bad though. I shot one under par today. I’m close, without me being able to put my finger on anything specific. It’s not like I’m shooting 76s and 77s. It’s all around even par. But that isn’t good enough these days.
‘I’m waiting for something, some sort of spark to go right. The last couple of weeks have not been like that. I just have to keep plugging away and hope it turns round next week.’
So the Open Championship looms and McIlory believes that patience will be key.
‘If I go down there and shoot even par in the first two rounds, I’m not going to be too far off the lead,’ insists a typically confident McIlroy.
‘I’m not that far away. I’m just the wrong side of something good. I just have to stay patient. I know I’m saying the same things every week at the moment, but hopefully next week I can say I stayed patient and it all worked out. Birkdale will be a tougher test, but I’m more than capable of going there and shooting a score in the 60s and getting myself into contention.’
Photo: Tony Marshall/Getty Images
