Rory McIlroy's reaction to reporters after embarrassing Open speaks volumes
Rory McIlroy's wait to claim a fifth major will enter its 11th year after the Northern Irishman missed the cut at the 152nd Open Championship.
Rory McIlroy strode up the 18th fairway at Royal Troon knowing his Open Championship was coming to an end prematurely.
A few holes earlier, he tossed his golf club into the air to let out some frustration, only to accidentally hit himself directly in the face.
It summed up his week entirely.
A missed cut in embarrassing fashion after rounds of 78-75 for an 11-over par total means his wait to add to his tally of four majors will drag on into its 11th year.
The Masters cannot come soon enough for the 35-year-old.
Scroll below for McIlroy's comments...
"Obviously got off to the worst start possible," he said, alluding to an early triple bogey that meant he was resigned to not playing the weekend.
Holiday destinations were already on his mind, he added.
"I think once I made the eight on the fourth hole, that was it.
"[It was] 22 holes into the event and I'm thinking about where I'm going to go on vacation next week.
"From then I'd sort of resigned myself to the fact that I wasn't going to shoot, whatever it is, 4 or 5-under from there on in to make the cut."
He added: "I feel like I say this every Open Championship, but it's not as if we only play four events a year.
"We play like 25, so there's still a few things there's left to play for.
"Obviously the majors have come and gone, but to sort of refocus and try to reset for the Olympics, which will be another cool experience, and try to play well there, and then again, I'm in contention to try to win both titles on either side of the Atlantic, so still some things to play for until the end of the year."
McIlroy began the day at 7-over par needing a round in the 60s to make the cut.
He began with two pars before he started leaking oil.
McIlroy then dropped six shots in four holes from the third.
That stretch of holes also saw McIlroy at one point advance his ball approximately five yards after he got stuck in the rough.
He also hit a snap-hook 93 yards left with his third shot into the par-5 6th.
McIlroy began to laugh as he realised it wasn't going to be his day or year.
He did not give up on the back nine and actually played the home stretch in two-under.
But it means that he now faces a long wait until the 2024 Masters.
McIlroy wasn't the only high-profile player to miss the cut here.
Tiger Woods finished on 14-over par for the championship and made a swift exit.
Bryson DeChambeau, Tommy Fleetwood, Cameron Smith, Tyrrell Hatton, Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Aberg and Wyndham Clark also missed out.
At the other end of the leaderboard Shane Lowry continued to impress.
His second round was not without fireworks after he swore at a cameraman for distracting him.
Lowry later shouldered the blame.
England's Justin Rose was also well-positioned heading into the third round.
Elsewhere, Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay are within striking distance of the 2019 winner.
As is Jon Rahm.
