McIl roy encouraged after closing with 67

Rory McIlroy has gone 10 majors without winning, the longest stretch since he turned pro. He at least felt he made progress at the British Open, and he has reason to be excited for the next major.

For one thing, his form is improving.

Despite a horrid start at Royal Birkdale — 5 over through six holes Thursday— he bounced back with rounds of 68-69-67 to tie for fourth, his best finish in a major since he was fourth alone in the 2015 Masters.

And the PGA Championship is at Quail Hollow in North Carolina, where McIlroy has won twice. First up is the Bridgestone Invitational, where he won the last time he played Firestone in 2014.

“I’m excited for the next two weeks,” he said. “I haven’t played at Firestone for a coupleof years. The last time I played there I won. And I’ve had some good fifinishes. Quail Hollow. … 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.”

McIlroy was coming off three missed cuts in his previous four tournaments, so he called his performance a step in the right direction.

Even so, there were moments of taking two steps forward and one step back. He wasted a great start in the third round with back-toback bogeys late on the front nine and a double bogey on No. 10. And right when he had an outside chance to make a move, he took a bogey on the par-5 16th when he lost his tee shot.

“I thought I had a chance to post anumber and at least scare them a little bit,” he said about Jordan Spieth and Matt Ku char. McIlroy finished seven shots behind.

DAVE THOMPSON / ASSOCIATED PRESS Winner Jordan Spieth admires his BritishOpen jug with second-placeMatt Kuchar (left) at Royal Birkdale. Both shot 69 in the fifinal round.