Another good finish for Rory McIlroy but it’s now a decade without a major

Rory McIlroy started his final round of The 151st The Open nine shots behind leader Brian Harman. “I needed to go out and shoot something 63, 64-ish, but really hard to do that in those conditions”. The first hole was playing challenging but McIlroy hit a great drive and a four iron from 209 yards to set up an opening par. The Northern Irishman missed the fairway on the second but escaped with a par. He found the fairway on the third hole and hit a excellent shot from 225 yards to set up a 50 foot putt for birdie. McIlroy hit an extraordinary putt as he holed his birdie putt from 50 feet.

The fourth at Royal Liverpool is a short par four and McIlroy hit another great short iron to set up a birdie putt. The Northern Irishman reached five under after making two birdies in a row. He kept the momentum in his favour as McIlroy got up and down for birdie on the par five fifth to reach six under. He achieved a par at the 7th and 8th before hitting a remarkable tee shot with a five iron from 223 yards at the par three ninth. The wind went out of his sails regarding chasing down Harman’s lead as McIlroy missed his birdie putt on the ninth and failed to get up & down for par at the 10th hole.

The conditions remained dreadful throughout the final day due to consistent rain. McIlroy achieved a par at the 11th, 12th and 13th before getting a sensational birdie at the extremely difficult par four 14th. The last four holes at Royal Liverpool include two par fives and McIlroy needed to try set a clubhouse target on eight or nine under. The Northern Irishman missed the fairway at the par five 15th for a second day in a row but set up a birdie putt after a solid short iron from 152 yards. McIlroy missed his birdie putt on the 15th and got extremely frustrated as he hit a poor shot from 174 yards at the 16th hole.

McIlroy’s race was run regarding setting a score after his bogey at the 16th hole. McIlroy achieved his final birdie of the tournament at Little Eye 17th as he holed a great putt. The four-time major winner finished with a par on the 18th after his birdie putt just slipped by the hole. McIlroy finished in a tie for sixth on six under and received $551,250. “Solid performance. Improved on my score every day”.

McIlroy will have to wait until April 2024 to break his 10 year major drought but he has big tournaments before that which includes the Ryder Cup in September. “I think about trying to go and win a fourth FedEx Cup here in a couple weeks' time, go try and win a fifth Race to Dubai, go and win a fifth Ryder Cup”. Brian Harman was the winner of The151st Open and it was hard for the chasing pack to get close as he won by six shots. “I don't think it'll change that much for him”.

The only Irish player to make the cut at Royal Liverpool was Padraig Harrington who finished in a tie for 64th.