McIlroy after 36-putt performance: 'Putter just went cold on me'

Rory McIlroy certainly struck the ball well enough to win the Open Championship on Sunday, but a cold putter saw the 33-year-old fall just short of a red-hot Cameron Smith at the season's final major.

McIlroy started the day sharing a four-stroke lead with Viktor Hovland over Smith and hit all 18 greens on his way around the Old Course. Unfortunately, he two-putted every single green en route to a whopping 36 putts on the day.

"Didn't feel like I did many things wrong, but the putter just went cold on me there pretty much throughout the round," McIlroy admitted on the broadcast. "I did what I wanted to do, I played a really controlled round of golf. I didn't take advantage of some of the holes that I had been taking advantage of this week."

Even with the putting woes, McIlroy was still in a great position early on the back nine Sunday. It was there that Smith heated up with five straight birdies to start the closing stretch.

McIlroy had some opportunities to match the Australian champion, but he just couldn't find the bottom of the cup during that period.

"I hit a good putt on 13, 14, 15, 16, 17. I was hitting good putts," McIlroy said, according to ASAP Sports. "They just weren't dropping. It's hard, like there's a lot of putts today where I couldn't just trust myself to start it inside the hole. I was always starting it on the edge or just outside, thinking it was going to move. More times than not, they just sort of stayed there."

While McIlroy admitted his disappointment in the result, he quickly praised Smith for his incredible performance in the final round. The 28-year-old was the first player to shoot 30 on the back nine of an Open at St. Andrews since McIlroy himself accomplished the feat in 2010.

"I got beaten by the better player this week," McIlroy said. "To go out and shoot 64 to win an Open Championship at St. Andrews is a helluva showing. Hats off to Cam, he's had an unbelievable week."

Despite his inability to close on Sunday, McIlroy's 2022 major season ranks as one of the best in his storied career. He finished in the top 10 of all four events for the first time, and his second-place showing at the Masters is his best to date.

"It's coming, this whole major season," McIlroy said. "Second at Augusta, third here, fifth at the U.S. Open, eighth at the PGA. I'm knocking on the door, and I just need to stay patient and keep knocking on the door, and eventually, one will open for me."

McIlroy will begin the next campaign with the chance to complete the career Grand Slam at the Masters, as has been the case since 2014. It will be a long wait until that time, but given how strong he's played throughout the calendar year, one has to like his chances.