Rich Beem has suggested that Rory McIlroy was left ‘seriously frustrated’ with one aspect of his game on Sunday at the Scottish Open with the Northern Irishman finishing tied for fourth.
Rory McIlroy will largely be able to reflect positively on his return to golf, with the 35-year-old producing four rounds in the 60s around The Renaissance Club as he looked to defend his Scottish Open title.
However, McIlroy will be disappointed that he was not able to capitalise on his promising position, particularly with third round leader Ludvig Aberg going backwards on Sunday. McIlroy started the final day three shots behind eventual winner Robert MacIntyre, but was always just a little too far back to contend.
And it seems that there was one particularly disappointing aspect of McIlroy’s game, as he looks to get some confidence ahead of The Open Championship.
Rory McIlroy fails to mount serious charge at Scottish Open
Speaking on Sky Sports (broadcast on 14/7; 18:42) after McIlroy missed a birdie chance on 17, Rich Beem suggested that the flat stick had been his Achilles heel again.
“Just hasn’t had it on the greens today, he is seriously frustrated. Even the putts he made early in his round, they didn’t make centre cup, they were kind of going in the side so he just hasn’t had it today on the greens,” he said.
Shades of St Andrews rather than Pinehurst
Of course, McIlroy’s putting performance would have been on everyone’s radar after what happened at the US Open, when he missed two short putts to help hand Bryson DeChambeau a dramatic victory at Pinehurst.
Sunday perhaps instead resembled the final round of the 2022 Open at St Andrews, when nothing seemed to drop for McIlroy and he ended up missing out to Cameron Smith.
That may not help ahead of Royal Troon this week, but McIlroy would happily accept what happened at the Scottish Open if it meant that everything dropped for him in South Ayrshire.
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