'Pretty average': McIlroy ambivalent over his U.S. Open play - ESPN

OAKMONT, Pa. — When Rory McIlroy walked up to his ball, buried in the right rough of Oakmont Country Club's 18th fairway, all he could do was sigh.

With fans crowding around him and several TV cables obstructing his stance, a frustrated McIlroy pulled them off the ground himself and moved them. He quickly looked at the lie, grabbed a club and wedged it out of the thick clump of grass. After making two birdies in his last four holes Friday to make the cut, McIlroy bogeyed his final hole on Saturday to card a 74, pushing his score to 10-over for the week.

«Pretty average,» McIlroy said when asked to describe his U.S. Open performance so far. «I was hoping to play better but I didn't.»

For the first time since the tournament began, McIlroy agreed to speak to the media and said that, despite making the cut on Friday, he was unsure he even wanted to continue playing.

«It's much easier being on the cut line when you don't really care if you're here for the weekend or not,» McIlroy said with a laugh. «I was sort of thinking, 'Do I really want two more days here or not?'»

Since winning the Masters and completing the career Grand Slam, McIlroy has alluded to a lack of motivation regarding his game. In his pre-tournament press conference, McIlroy said he has been «trying to find the motivation to go back out there and work as hard as I've been working» and has focused instead on taking time to enjoy accomplishing a life-long dream.

«You don't really know how it's going to affect you,» McIlroy said Saturday. «I have felt a little flat on the golf course afterwards.»

At the RBC Canadian Open last week, McIlroy shot 71-78 and missed the cut. At the PGA Championship last month, McIlroy finished T-47 and declined speaking to the media