Rory McIlroy Rebounding and Learning from British Open Missed Cut

Rory McIlroy had an uncharacteristic missed cut at the British Open which was played just a few miles from where he grew up.

Naturally, Rory McIlroy was disappointed, but he was surprised at what he learned about himself and how he felt about his home country.

"“I was overwhelmed by the support that I got,” McIlroy said at a pre-tournament press conference for the WGC-FedEx St. Jude. “I guess at the end of the day I didn’t think I meant as much to them, and I realized that they mean more to me than I thought they did. So, I think it went both ways and it was really nice.”"

Rory McIlroy said he was relaxed in his warm-up and on the putting green before play began. However, when he heard his name on the first tee, he noticed his hand was shaking.

"“I was like, jeez, this is different,” he explained. “I was surprised with how nervous I was.”"

Unfortunately, Rory McIlroy had a horrible first round at Royal Portrush, posting a 79. His second round of 65 put him just one shot shy of the cut. A bogey at the 16th hole and failure to birdie the 17th or 18th proved his undoing. Or the short missed putts from the previous day. Should, coulda.

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"“I would have loved to have played in that atmosphere for two more days, but it was–it’s such a weird thing to say– but, you know, to think about a missed cut being one of the best experiences you ever had on a golf course, so I guess there is some sort of silver lining in there this year,” he added."

Still, he said he learned things at all the majors this season.

"“I almost tried to downplay the majors this year, tried to treat them like every other event, and I’ve realized they’re not, they’re not like any other event,” he admitted. “You need to have a certain mindset. You need to prepare differently. I tried a sort of different strategy this year, it didn’t quite work for me. Just have to reassess that going forward.”"

He said he been trying to take the emotion out of playing golf and to think logically about it instead, but the British Open made him rethink that.

"“I was emotional on Friday, and I was still able to play good golf in spite of that. So, I thought that was a good lesson as well,” he added. “Sometimes a bit of emotion on the course isn’t a bad thing. It’s just about how you can handle it and resetting in between shots.”"

Tiger Woods obviously doesn’t think emotion on the golf course is a bad thing. It certainly worked for him 81 times. However, most golfers try to hold it in more, the way Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson do.

Regarding the outcome of the British Open for Northern Ireland, McIlroy said the country did everything right. With Shane Lowry winning, it made the tournament even more special for the island of Ireland as well as for the fans, never mind for Lowry.

"“You saw it yesterday when he went back home to his hometown and the amount of people that came out to see him,” Rory McIlroy noted. “Especially doing it there at Portrush. I mean, he’s going to be a national hero for the rest of his life.”"

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Rory McIlroy said he sent Lowry a text saying that his life would never be the same.