Rory McIlroy eyes some sun after missing cut at blustery British Open

NEW DELHI: Rory McIlroy admitted that his focus shifted to planning his upcoming vacation for the majority of his round on Friday, following a catastrophic beginning that guaranteed he would not make the cut at the British Open.
After a dreadful two days at Royal Troon, McIlroy finished at 11 over par, with the projected cut being set at six over in the windy conditions on the west coast of Scotland.
McIlroy's opening round of seven over par left him with a significant challenge, and he never had a chance of reaching the weekend after losing six shots in four holes between the third and the sixth, including a triple-bogey eight at the fourth
"That four-hole stretch to start off is what cost me," said the Northern Irishman. "Twenty-two holes into the event and I'm thinking about where I'm going to go on vacation next week."
McIlroy's quest to end his major championship drought will have to wait until next year, as he missed the cut at a major for only the second time in his last 15 appearances.
Despite a valiant effort to recover from a difficult start, the 35-year-old Northern Irishman fell short of the projected cut by five strokes. McIlroy managed to steady his round with seven straight pars before making his first birdie of the day from a green-side bunker on the 14th hole. "He picked up another shot at the 16th but still fell five short of the projected cut."
McIlroy is not alone in his struggles, as seven of the world's top 12 players are also expected to miss the weekend. The challenging course conditions have proven to be a great equalizer, testing the skills of even the most accomplished golfers in the field.
"When the wind died down a little bit -- it was still strong enough out there -- but when it became at least manageable for me, I started to play better," he added.
"I played the last 12 in a couple under par and actually felt a little more comfortable over my shots.
"But when the wind gets that strong and you haven't played in wind like that for quite a while, sometimes it's just hard to adapt."
McIlroy's attention now turns to trying to win Olympic gold for Ireland at Le Golf National in Paris from August 1.
"I feel like I say this every Open Championship, but it's not as if we only play four events a year," he said.
"There's still a few things there's left to play for. Obviously the majors have come and gone, but (I have) to sort of refocus and try to reset for the Olympics, which will be another cool experience, and try to play well there."