'He's the bar we're all trying to get to' - McIlroy salutes Scheffler after homecoming to savour
McIlroy made it through to the weekend this time, and he did his damned best to give the galleries the dénouement they so badly wanted by making a run for what would have been a second victory at golf's oldest major.
It wasn't to be. Momentum eluded him, his diminishing chances put to bed by a definitive double bogey at the start of the back nine. By the end, he had to doff his cap and vacate centre stage for a man of such understated genius.
'Yeah, none of us could hang with Scottie [Scheffler] this week. He's an incredible player. He's been dominant this week. Honestly, he's been dominant for the last couple years. He is the bar that we're all trying to get to," reflected McIlroy, who finished seven shots back.
'In a historical context, you could argue that there's only maybe two or three players in the history of the game that have been on a run, the one that Scottie's been on here for the last 24 to 36 months. Incredibly impressive.'
McIlroy's year has hardly been shabby. The Masters was the apex but there were two other wins as well and, if all three came 'when Scottie wasn't quite on his game', then this tie for seventh is more proof of his return to form after a post-Masters slump.
He decided to embrace this home Open having isolated himself when it came to Northern Ireland last time. There was a feeling of pride that stirred in him as he walked up 18 on Sunday and tried to keep his emotions in some kind of check before carding a last round of 69.
'I feel good. I feel like being back in Europe for a bit was a nice reset. Yeah, I feel like I'm getting back to where I want to be, and we've still got a lot of golf left this year with obviously Ryder Cup being the big one in there in September.
'I don't want to play too much leading up to that because I want to be fresh. So I'm looking forward to a few weeks off here. I'll reflect on what's been already a good year and start to get myself ready for that run up to the Ryder Cup.'
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