Rory McIlroy’s Open Championship campaign already looks over after a disastrous opening round saw him finish seven-over par.
The Northern Irishman returned to action at last week’s Scottish Open after his heartbreaking loss at the US Open last month.
But he was unable to take that momentum into Royal Troon this week with McIlroy succumbing to the tricky conditions on the Scottish course.
McIlroy kept hovering around level par until the ‘Postage Stamp’ eighth hole changed things drastically.
Rory McIlroy had a day to forget
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The 35-year-old found the small putting surface, but his ball then rolled back into the bunker.
McIlroy needed two attempts to get out of the bunker before two-putting for a costly double bogey.
He went on to miss five consecutive greens in regulation as another double bogey followed on the 11th following a wild drive that flew out of bounds.
Two more bogeys followed on the 15th and 18th to bring an end to a disastrous round for the 2014 Open champion.
That left him seven-over par for the tournament with a round of 78 and 10 shots off the lead.
It’s the third-worst opening round in McIlroy’s 15 Open Championships with the two others coming in 2013 and 2019 when he shot rounds of 79.
It’s also the worst opening round from McIlroy at any major since that fateful day in Royal Portrush back in 2019.
He responded from that horror day on his home course with a terrific run in major competitions.
Rory McIlroy is 10 shots off the lead
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McIlroy went on to finish inside the top-10 in 11 of the 18 majors since the 2019 Open Championship.
But he now looks extremely likely to miss the cut at The Open for only the third time in his career.
He currently sits tied-128th at the time of his opening round finishing with more players yet to tee off for the day.
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Rory McIlroy has only missed the cut at The Open twice previously
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