Rory McIlroy regroups after missing Open cut, aims for new goals

TRON, Scotland — Rory McIlroy had plenty of time to accept that he would go 10 straight years without winning a major. Now he must wait 265 days for the next one, when he hears the starter at Augusta National say, “Fore, please. Rory McIlroy is driving.”

The realization came on the fourth hole of the second round. He needed a good start to make the cut, perhaps to return to the Open Championship. What he got was a triple bogey.

“I’m 22 holes into the event and I’m already thinking about where I’m going to go on holiday next week,” McIlroy said after rounds of 78-75, missing the cut by five strokes.

Whatever his plans for the holiday, his next thought was how to salvage another season without a trophy from the four biggest events.

This was a tougher year than most because of the previous major.

He had a two-stroke lead on the back nine of the U.S. Open. He was firmly in control until he missed a 30-inch putt on the 16th hole, then fell behind when he missed a par putt from inside 4 feet on the final hole.

McIlroy was so upset that he left Pinehurst, withdrew from the next tournament and spent a few days in Manhattan to gather his thoughts.

It reminded me of McIlroy’s famous quote after the 2023 US Open, another opportunity he blew away: “I would endure 100 Sundays like this to get another major championship.”

What did he learn from Troon?

“I would rather have a disappointing Sunday than go home on Friday,” he said.

One lesson he learned from the U.S. Open is to remind himself that he is a very good player who has accomplished more than he imagined when he turned pro in 2007 at age 18. He has won four majors and 26 PGA Tour titles, plus three FedEx Cup titles.

“It’s not like we only play four events a year,” McIlroy said. “We play about 25. So there’s still a few things to play for. Obviously the majors have come and gone.”

McIlroy is now scheduled for the Olympics. The question is whether a gold medal can fill the void left by the many silver trophies he has collected this year.

“It’s not like we only play four events a year. We play 25. So there are still some things to play for. Obviously the majors have come and gone.”

Rory McIlroy

Golf is a relatively new addition to the Olympic program, having returned in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. McIlroy skipped that Summer Games, still torn and mildly irritated by a Northern Irish golfer being forced to choose between flying the flag of the United Kingdom or Ireland.

He played in Tokyo as an Irish golfer and lost in a seven-man play-off for bronze. “I’ve never tried so hard to finish third,” he said.

McIlroy said that in a few years a gold medal might feel like a gold standard, just as it does in tennis. For now, it’s about all he’s got.

“And again, I’m in the running to win both titles on both sides of the Atlantic,” McIlroy said, referring to the FedEx Cup on the PGA Tour and the Race to Dubai on the European Tour. McIlroy is No. 3 in the FedEx Cup and leads in Europe. “There’s still a few things to play for until the end of the year.”

There is really no other choice than to look ahead, as long as that also includes the start of the Masters.

Tiger Woods went 11 years between majors, but that was easy to explain. His personal life fell apart after a shocking confession of extramarital affairs, followed by more leg injuries, four back surgeries, the painkillers that led to an embarrassing DUI arrest, and age.

McIlroy was 25 when he won his last major, missing one major due to an ankle injury from playing soccer with friends.

If he has underperformed over the past decade, it is more than not winning; it is a player of this talent who has so few chances to win. There was Pinehurst and Los Angeles in the last two U.S. Opens. There was Carnoustie in the 2018 Open Championship. And there was St. Andrews in 2022, when he two-putted every green and closed with a 70.

McIlroy is 35. If he looks older, it’s because this is his 17th year on tour. That’s a lot of scar tissue that builds up over time. Losses happen a lot more often than wins in a sport like this.

Only five players in major championship history have gone 11 years between majors: Woods, Ben Crenshaw, Hale Irwin, Julius Boros and Henry Cotton.