NEWCASTLE, Northern Ireland — World number one Rory McIlroy wasted little time after missing the cut for a third straight year at the Irish Open as he headed straight for his parents' Belfast home on Friday.
The four-times major winner gained some comfort by shooting a second round level-par 71 but the damage was done a day earlier when he ballooned to an 80 on the windswept and rain-lashed Royal County Down course.
It left McIlroy four shots outside the cut-off mark of five- over-par in the 2.5 million euros (£1.80 million) event.
Spain's Rafa Cabrera-Bello (68), Dane Soren Kjeldsen(70), Austrian Bernd Wiesberger (67) and British trio Chris Wood (69), Tyrrell Hatton (66) and Richie Ramsay (67) shared the lead on three-under 139.