Rory McIlroy speaks out after failing to win The Open on ‘disappointing’ final day at St Andrews

Rory McIlroy said his main feeling was one of ‘disappointment’ after he failed to win The Open at St Andrews despite leading going into the final round.

Northern Ireland’s McIlroy and Norway’s Viktor Hovland took a four-shot lead into the last round of the 150th Open.

McIlroy closed with a bogey-free two-under 70 but that was only enough to finish third as Australia’s Cameron Smith dazzled to claim his first major championship.

Smith shot a stunning eight-under-par 64 to finish on 20 under, one shot clear of runner-up Cameron Young and two clear of four-time major winner McIlroy.

McIlroy was bidding to win his fifth major and first in eight years but fell narrowly short, admitting his putter ‘went cold’ when it mattered most.

Asked how it feels to finish third having held the overnight lead, McIlroy told NBC: ‘Yeah, just disappointment I guess.

‘I had a great opportunity today to add to that major tally and I didn’t quite get it done. I didn’t feel like I did many things wrong, but the putter went cold on me throughout the round.

‘I did what I wanted to do. I played a really controlled round of golf. I didn’t take advantage of the holes I had been taking advantage of this week.

‘Both Camerons, but especially Smith, went on a run on the back nine, I had to dig deep to make some birdies and I just couldn’t.

‘I got beaten by the better player this week. To shoot 64 to win an Open Championship at St Andrews is one hell of a showing, so hats off to Cam, he’s had an unbelievable week.’

Speaking to Sky Sports, McIlroy added: ‘I sort of expected someone to come from the pack and the two Camerons played really well today and made life difficult for me.

<p lang=«en» dir=«ltr» xml:lang=«en»>All class from @McIlroyRory after a disappointing