Surge came too late for rocky Rory to recover
PHILIP QUINN
‘It’s hard when you could have won but you’re not quite there’ ‘The game is in much better shape than it has been’
OUT by Birkdale’s sixth hole, the sound of noisy bikers carried across the dunes as Rory McIlroy revved up his final-day charge at the Open.
The par four toughie played to an average of more than 4.5 shots all week but McIlroy managed to wrestle with it better than most.
Yesterday, he reduced the 511-yard card-wrecker to a booming drive and towering iron approach which left his ball 15 feet beyond the pin.
He didn’t make the putt but he played the hole far smoother than any of his previous five which involved superb scrambling to avoid dropping out of Open contention on a slow-burning afternoon.
While he was still some distance adrift of overnight leader Jordan Spieth, McIlroy had finally found the heart of a green and with two proper shots, too.
It was time to kick on, to live up to his choice of canary yellow shirt and become showy, not sombre.
For the next hour or so, McIlroy chiselled away at Old Man Par and briefly threatened to muscle in on the compelling duel between Spieth and Matt Kuchar for the Claret Jug.
He shaved the cup with birdie efforts on the seventh and eighth, and finally got one to drop on the ninth to nudge under par for his round.
A glance at a leaderboard, showed a five-shot gap to Spieth but McIlroy was more focused on the clubhouse target of six under set by Haotong Li of China after a stunning 63.
‘I wanted to get level with Haotong, if not beat him, and get in the clubhouse at six or seven under. I didn’t quite get there,’ he said.
After negotiating the troublesome 10th in par, McIlroy picked up another shot on the 11th to stand four under.
By now, his name was on the giant yellow score boards adorning Birkdale. He was on the brink of being a major player again and he sensed it.
‘The conditions worsened and when I got to within four, I felt with the two par-fives coming up, I had a chance to post a number, and at least scare them a little bit,’ he said.
As the winds freshened and Birkdale began to bite back after a soft morning, McIlroy’s most trusted club in the bag — his driver — deserted him on the long 15th.
A pulled tee shot led to a lost ball and while he did well to salvage a six, the momentum was stalled. Undeterred, he bounced back with a stunning eagle three on the 17th, which left him needing a birdie on the last to tie Li.
Unfortunately, he snagged a greenside trap and while he successfully got up and down from sand for the fifth time in his round, he couldn’t quite prise a podium finish.
On balance, McIlroy was entitled to be satisfied with his week’s work as he returned to decent form on the game’s greatest stage.
‘It was a step in the right direction and obviously better after what happened the last few weeks,’ he said.
‘My ball-striking got a bit better as the week went on. So, yeah, it’s definitely a reinforcement that I’m working on the right things. I saw a lot of improvement as the week went on.
‘But it’s hard whenever you feel like you’ve had a chance to win a major and you’re not quite there, so it’s disappointing. But at the same time, I have to take the positives and I’m looking forward to the next few weeks.’
Next up for McIlroy is the WGC in Firestone and the US PGA in Quail Hollow, where he thrives.
‘The PGA is only three weeks away. So, I’m happy that’s coming quite quickly on the back of this. The game is in much better shape than it was.
‘I haven’t played at Firestone for a couple of years. The last time I played there I won and I’ve had some good finishes.
‘I play well at Quail Hollow. I’ve shot a couple of course records, had a couple of wins, and got beaten in a play-off, as well. I love the golf course. I know they’ve made a few changes, but I’ll have some really good vibes going into that week.’
As for the vibes leaving Birkdale last night, they were mixed after Spieth closed to within one major, three to McIlroy’s four.
While fourth place was credible, McIlroy knows he could have won the 146th Open, and it wasn’t because of mental errors on the 10th tee on Saturday, or the 15th yesterday.
It was the five shots he coughed up in the first six holes on Thursday which proved the biggest handicap.
‘I wish I could have had that start back,’ admitted McIlroy as he slipped away from Southport after an opportunity lost.