Northern Ireland’s world number three Rory McIlroy says he will “reassess” his strategy at majors, after missing the cut at The Open at Royal Portrush.
McIlroy, 30, was the home favourite, but carded an eight-over-par 79 in his first round, followed by a 65 as he missed the weekend by one shot.
“I almost tried to downplay the majors this year,” said McIlroy, who won the last of his four majors in 2014. “I tried to treat them like every other event and I’ve realised they’re not.”
McIlroy’s best result at a major this year was tied for eighth at May’s US PGA Championship.
He added: “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. I just have to reassess that going forward.”
Reflecting on The Open, before he targets a third title of the year at the WGC-FedEx St Jude Invitational in Memphis, McIlroy added: “I had to probably stop myself from crying about four times on the back nine not because of the situation I found myself in, but just because of the support.”
