ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — Each time Rory McIlroy ventured out of his hotel room in St. Andrews, Scotland, this week, he could see the big yellow scoreboard above the first and 18th holes at the Old Course.
At the start of the final round of the 150th edition of The Open on Sunday, McIlroy's name was at the top, along with Norway's Viktor Hovland.
But after 18 holes, McIlroy's name had slipped to third after he had another major championship slip through his hands. McIlroy, a four-time major winner, finished two shots behind Australia's Cameron Smith, who carded an 8-under 64 on Sunday and finished 20 under after 72 holes. «I'm only human.
I'm not a robot,» McIlroy said. «Of course you think about it, and you envision it, and you want to envision it.… And every time I go out, I'm trying to envision McIlroy at the top name on that leaderboard and how did that feel? »At the start of the day, it was at the top, but at the start of tomorrow, it won't be.