He missed out on a win yet again! But this time around, it wasn’t a close one like the 2024 U.S. Open. One would have hoped Rory McIlroy would deliver on his words and clinch a victory ahead of the upcoming major at Royal Troon. The reality, however, turned out to be something different, as the golfer could only finish at T4 after the fourth round. His fans, meanwhile, couldn’t help but vent their emotions due to the same.

Dan Rapaport shared a tweet on X after McIlroy lost out on his title defense at The Renaissance Club. He went ahead to point out the golfer’s gameplay, all the while criticizing his short game at the Genesis Scottish Open; “Rory hitting it good enough to win but putting poorly enough to not really be in contention feels like a perfect result for his one event between Pinehurst and Royal Troon.”

The 4-time major champ failed to turn his good drives into proper finishes on the greens as he scored a 14-under 266 over the four days of play. The golfer did so while carding figures of 65-66-67-68 after Sunday. Although he did rank second in both Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee and Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green, it, however, wasn’t enough for him to clinch the win. And the fans seem to know it as well!

Netizens fail to express belief in Rory McIlroy ahead of the Open Championship

The athlete didn’t have the best of starts this year on the PGA Tour. His first notable finish came at the Valero Texas Open when McIlroy placed T3. Since then, it has been a rollercoaster ride for the Northern Irishman. He finished six times inside the top-10, including a T2 at the 2024 U.S. Open. A fan alluded to the same while commenting, “Consistently inconsistent sums up his season so far. Need to tweak the mental game” while another responded with a similar statement, “You’re the “golf journalist”, but I’m pretty sure that’s Rory 99% of his career, not just this week.”

“I’d love to see Scottie try a mallet,” said an expectant Rory McIlroy after addressing Scottie Scheffler‘s putting troubles that plagued him at one point in time. The current No. 1 golfer’s swing coach also advised the same following which he turned to the TaylorMade Spider Tour X (X1) putter with a 3-degree loft and 72-degree lie angle at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. This made all the difference. A user made fun of the 35-year-old by comparing him to a Scheffler who was bad at putting, “Feels like Scottie before he switched to the mallet.” It’s not surprising seeing as how the golfer was ranked No. 63 in the field for putting.

The professional’s best finish in 2024 came at the Wells Fargo Championship where he won while his worst came at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am with a T66 placement. However, he has not once missed the cut at any event this year. But a user on X decided to predict his fate at the major that will kick off at Royal Troon; “Out the house on him for Troon.”

Fortunately, not all fans were against the golfer in the comments. One even expressed hope for McIlroy clinching his 5th major victory at the Royal Troon when they commented, “2024 Open champion, Rory McIlroy.” But will he be able to do it? The fans can only wait and watch as the 2024 Open Championship tees off on July 18th.