Rory McIlroy’s British Open disappointment grows mounting questions further

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — Every morning this week at St. Andrews, Rory McIlroy looked out his window at the Rusacks Hotel, which stands adjacent to the 18th hole of the Old Course, and he stared at the distinctive manually operated yellow British Open scoreboard.

Every morning, the 33-year-old from Northern Ireland stared at that scoreboard and envisioned his name at the top of it come Sunday night, him standing on that 18th green hoisting the Claret Jug toward the grey Scottish sky as the “Champion Golfer of the Year. ’’ When McIlroy woke up Sunday morning, he shared the space at the top of that board with Viktor Hovland as the co-leaders entering the final round. He was 18 holes away from achieving a childhood dream, winning an Open at St.

Andrews, the “Home of Golf. ’’ He could see it, touch it, taste it. “I’m only human, I’m not a robot; of course, you think about it and you envision it … and you want to envision it,’’ McIlroy said as he stood dejected and gutted after being lapped by winner Cameron Smith , who overcame a four-shot deficit to McIlroy to start the day to win his first major championship.

McIlroy said every time he looked out his hotel window at that scoreboard, “I’m trying to envision ‘McIlroy’ as the top name on that leaderboard and how that [would] feel. At the start of the day [Sunday], it was at the top, but at the start of tomorrow, it won’t be. ’’ On this day, McIlroy, who shot a final-round, bogey-free 2-under 70 (six shots more than Smith), could not summon his best when he needed it most.

So, for McIlroy, who hasn’t won a major since 2014, the beat goes on. So, too, will the questions every time he tees it up in a major. No one had more pressure on him than McIlroy on Sunday at St.

Andrews. He was the most accomplished player atop the leaderboard entering the final round. He was the tournament betting favorite from the start of the week.

He was, by a wide margin, the most popular player in the field. If you had a dime for every “Come on, Rory’’ that echoed from the massive galleries, you’d be able to afford to buy one of those rooms in the Rusacks Hotel. He was in such good form that on more than one occasion this week he spoke freely about how all facets of his game felt great.

He’s been waiting to win his fifth career major for eight years. He’s been the most out-front, educated and adamant spokesperson for the PGA Tour in its uncomfortable fight with the Saudi-backed LIV Golf tour. This is not an excuse for McIlroy.

It’s certainly not one he’d make for himself. It’s just a fact. McIlroy carried the weight of all these things with him around the Old Course on Sunday.

Maybe at the end of the day, it was too much. He insisted afterward that he didn’t feel the pressure as much as “maybe I would have let myself previously feel. ’’ “I’m trying to do it for me at the end of the day,’’ he said.

“Yes, it’s great to get the support, but the happiest person in the world if I won that Claret Jug, would have been me. ’’ The second happiest people would have been his wife, Erica, and their baby girl, Poppy, who watched the tournament for much of the week out that Rusacks Hotel window. “I’ll be OK,’’ McIlroy said, not sounding altogether convincing.

“At the end of the day, it’s not life or death. I’ll have other chances to win the Open Championship and other chances to win majors. It’s one that I feel like I let slip away, but there will be other opportunities.

“I’ve just got to keep putting myself in position. Whenever you put yourself in that shining light, you’re going to have to deal with setbacks and deal with failures. Today is one of those times.

But I just have to dust myself off and come again and keep working hard and keep believing. So, it’s just a matter of keep knocking on the door, and eventually one will open. ’’ As McIlroy spoke in the immediate aftermath of his round, the champion’s ceremony taking place on the 18th green was audible, with Smith being handed the Claret Jug and introduced as “The Champion Golfer of the Year.

’’ “There’s a worthy winner right on the 18th green right now,’’ McIlroy said. “I got beaten by a better player this week. ’’ Projecting pure class to the end.

.