Rory McIlroy to regroup after missing Open cut, eyes new goals - ESPN

TROON, Scotland — Rory McIlroy had plenty of time to accept that a 10th straight year would pass without him winning a major. He now has to wait 265 days for the next one, when he hears the starter at Augusta National say, «Fore, please. Rory McIlroy driving.»

The realization came on the fourth hole of the second round. He needed a good start to make the cut, maybe get back into the Open Championship. What he got was a triple bogey.

«Twenty-two holes into the event and I'm thinking about where I'm going to go on vacation next week,» McIlroy said after rounds of 78-75 to miss the cut by five shots.

Whatever he had in mind for vacation, his next thought was how to salvage another season that will not include a trophy from the four biggest events.

This has been a tougher year than most because of the previous major.

He had a two-shot lead on the back nine of the U.S. Open. He was very much in control until missing a 30-inch putt on the 16th hole and then falling behind when he missed a par putt from inside 4 feet on the last hole.

McIlroy was so distraught he peeled out of Pinehurst, withdrew from the next tournament and spent a few days in Manhattan trying to collect his thoughts.

It brought to mind McIlroy famously saying after the 2023 U.S. Open — another opportunity he let slip away — that «I would go through 100 Sundays like this to get my hands on another major championship.»

His takeaway from Troon?

«I'd much rather have a disappointing Sunday than going home on Friday,» he said.

One lesson from the U.S. Open was to remind himself that he's a very good player who has accomplished more than he would have thought when he turned pro in 2007 at age 18. He has four majors and 26 titles on the PGA Tour, along with three