McIlroy flirts with cut line

RORY McIlroy faces the prospect of heading into n e x t w e e k ’s O p e n Championship on the back of a third missed cut in four events after getting off to a poor start in the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open.

McIlroy was hoping memories of his last appearance in the event would kickstar t his injury-hit season, t he world No 4 finishing 14th at Royal Aberdeen in 2014 before going on to win the Open, WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and US PGA in his next three starts.

But despite enjoying the best of the conditions, the 28-year-old could only card a t wo-over-par 74 at Dundonald Links to end the day nine shots behind Finland’s Mikko Ilonen.

McIlroy followed a missed cut in the US Open with a tie for 17th in the Travelers Championship but then made an early exit from the Irish Open at Portstewart, where he was the defending champion.

The f our-time Major winner has not missed successive cuts since May 2015 but recent work on his wedge game failed to reap dividends as he followed bogeys on the 11th and 12th — his second and third holes of the day — by dumping his approach to the 13th into the burn which guards the front of the green.

The resulting double bogey was at least followed by a first birdie of the day on the par-five 14th but another bogey on the 18th took McIlroy to the turn in 40.

Birdies on the third, fifth and seventh repaired most of the damage, only for a bogey on the ninth to leave McIlroy at the wrong end of the leaderboard in the £5.4 million event.

Rory McIlroy is not in form.