McIlroy falls short in bid to crown British Open homecoming with the claret jug

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland (AP) — Scottie Scheffler was walking down the first fairway at Royal Portrush when a shout came from outside the ropes: “Go Rory!”

They were all over the Dunluce Links again Sunday, those passionate supporters of Rory McIlroy cheering on their favorite son in the final act of his homecoming — whether they were watching him or not.

The big disappointment for McIlroy was that he couldn’t deliver what they craved.

“It’s been an awesome week,” McIlroy said after shooting 2-under 69 to tie for seventh at the British Open. “I’ve gotten everything I wanted out of this week apart from a claret jug, and that’s just because one person was just a little bit better than the rest of us.”

That might be an understatement.

Scheffler, the world No. 1, won by four shots to capture his fourth major title. He was seven strokes clear of McIlroy and playing on a different level in this pretty corner of Northern Ireland.

McIlroy even acknowledged as much.

“He’s an incredible player,” he said of Scheffler. “He’s been dominant this week. Honestly, he’s been dominant for the last couple years. He is the bar that we’re all trying to get to.”

As for Scheffler, he could only apologize for spoiling the McIlroy party.

“I know I wasn’t the fan favorite today,” he said, grinning, in his post-round speech on No. 18, “but I did hear a lot of USA and Dallas, Texas chants.”

Scheffler might have won two majors this year and asserted himself as the game’s dominant player. Yet, for many, 2025 still belongs to McIlroy after his dramatic win at the Masters in April to complete the career Grand Slam.

Fans came in droves this week to celebrate McIlroy’s achievements, and produced some of the loudest roars he has ever heard on a golf course.

If McIlroy didn’t quite deliver, then Royal Portrush — where he shot 61 as a 16-year-old for the course record — certainly did, gaining widespread rave reviews.

When the Open returned to Portrush in 2019 for the first time in 68 years, McIlroy was so emotional he hit his opening drive out-of-bounds, shot 79 and missed the cut.

He made amends six years later.

“I feel so thankful and just so lucky that I get to do this in front of this crowd,” McIlroy said. “Hopefully I’ll have one or two Opens left here, if the R&A decide to keep coming back — probably one while I’m still competitive and another one while I’m more gray than I already am.”

McIlroy started Sunday six strokes back from Scheffler after a wild third-round 66, and needed a minor miracle to catch his big rival.

He got up-and-down for birdie at the par-5 second hole but couldn’t make a fast enough start. A bogey at No. 4, after missing the green with his approach, was a mistake he couldn’t afford and he suddenly was eight shots adrift of Scheffler, who played as steady as ever.

A double at No. 10 ended his hopes.

McIlroy couldn’t reproduce his Saturday charge but at least played all four days this time.

“I tried as best as I could to keep my emotions in check, especially walking up the last there and that reception,” McIlroy said.

“It’s just been incredible to come back here and to play and at least feel like I had a chance today going out there. Just an awesome week.”

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