Mixed emotions for Rory McIlroy as he misses cut at Royal Portrush

The Northern Irish man, who came into the day eight over par, produced a stunning fightback to set a new course record of 65 at Royal Portrush.

In the end though the four-time major winner fell narrowly short finishing on two-over, but he was given a deafening standing ovation on the 18th as he signed off on a day of mixed emotions.

“There’s a lot of emotions,” said McIlroy afterwards.

“I’m disappointed not to be here for the weekend, but unbelievably proud of how I handled myself today coming back after what was a very challenging day yesterday.

“And I’m full of gratitude towards every single one of the people that followed me to the very end and was willing me on. As much as I came here at the start of the week saying I wanted to do it for me, you know, by the end of the round there today I was doing it just as much for them as I was for me.

“I wanted to be here for the weekend. Selfishly I wanted to feel that support for two more days.

“But today was probably one of the most fun rounds of golf I’ve ever played. It’s strange saying that standing here and having had a bit of success and won this championship before, and just to be battling to make the cut.

“To play in front of those crowds today and to feel that momentum and really dig in, it’s going to be a tough one to get over. I’ll probably rue the finish yesterday, dropping five shots on the last three holes. But I felt like I gave a good account of myself today and I can leave here with my head held high.

“You’re only as good as your last round, I guess. One of the great things about golf is there’s always next week.

“I’ve got a pretty big tournament in Memphis to go to. And leaving here with a pretty solid golf game.

“Obviously what happened yesterday was a bit of an anomaly, and there’s a few big numbers thrown in there. But I felt today I showed the real Rory McIlroy and the golf that I can play.”