RORY McILROY missed the cut at The Open after a disastrous performance – and almost left a piece of himself behind.
The Holywood man’s ten-year wait for a fifth Major title drags on even further after his endured a nightmare time at Royal Troon.
He gave himself a lot to do to make the weekend after the world No2 shot a catastrophic SEVEN-OVER round of 78 on Thursday.
And it didn’t get any better on Friday, as he could only add a four-over 75 to his disastrous opening 78 to finish on 11 over to miss the cut.
If matters weren’t bad enough, he had the embarrassment of hitting himself in the face with his own golf club.
As he was walking down the fairway, he tried to flip the club in his hand, only for the end of it to clip him on the jaw before falling to the floor.
All McIlroy could do was shake himself off and forlornly pick the club back up again.
A clip of the moment was shared to social media, with fans remarking that it pretty much summed up his fortune over the entire weekend.
Paul quipped: “He took it on the chin well” while Lorna said: “Sums up his weekend – but Paris olympics with Shane, hopefully that’ll turn around!”
Phil joked: “He’s even shanked throwing the club there !” while Jerry posted: “It was that kind of day for Rory.”
Kate posted: “Poor guy can’t even toss a club right” and Chris remarked: “Rory proving categorically that he cannot control his wedges in the wind.”
McIlroy needed a fast start but he dropped six shots in his first six holes — including a disastrous eight at the par-five fourth.
His day was summed up when, after missing the 16th green, he threw his club into the air in frustration and hit himself on the chin.
McIlroy, whose ten-year wait for another Major goes on, said: “After the eight on the fourth hole I resigned myself to the fact I wouldn’t be here for the weekend.
“Over the course of the two days the conditions got the better of me. I have to keep reminding myself that I am close to another Major.”
It was not all doom and gloom where Irish interests were concerned, with Shane Lowry leading the chasing pack going into the weekend.
The Offaly man finished with a round of 69 to take the lead on -7.
However, he had to keep his cool after an astonishing incident which cost him a double-bogey six on the 11th.
After a wayward drive off the tee, he plunged his second into a gorse bush and gave it up as lost.
Yet after taking a drop and playing a provisional ball, a fan found the original, meaning he had to go back, accept a penalty and ultimately took a six.
There was also a fiery confrontation with a cameraman, with Lowry caught saying: “I could just see you with the f***ing camera up! Just get out of the way. Just get back. F*** sake.”
Speaking afterwards, the 2019 Open champion accepted responsibility for the incident.
He admitted: “I got a bit distracted as I was over the shot and lost a bit of my train of thought.
“You’re so afraid of going right there that I just snagged the club and went left.
“There was a cameraman walking up and I asked him to stop but he stayed there. As it was over, he put his camera up. I saw it out of the corner of my eye and should have stood off it. It was my own fault.
“I hit a great provisional and the referee asked if I wanted to find my first one. I said no and assumed that was OK but we got down there and somebody had found it.
“But I felt like through that whole 20-minute process I was very calm.
“And, to be honest, I was happy enough leaving there with a six. It wasn’t a disaster and I was still leading the tournament.”
