RORY CANNOT ESCAPE TROON CARNAGE

Mcllroy and Bryson slump as scores soar in the rain

- Neil McLeman

THERE was no redemption in the rain for Rory McIlroy at Royal Troon.

The US Open runner-up shared his Major pain with Pinehurst champion Bryson DeChambeau - and several more superstars - on a day of scorecard carnage at The Open.

Gusting winds and rain caused numbers to climb as high as the thick rough, with calamities at every turn.

It was another McIlroy nightmare and he is now all set to extend his Major drought beyond 10 years.

Last month he dropped three shots in the final four to lose out holes to DeChambeau in sunny North Carolina. This time McIlroy played his way out of the year's final Major with two double-bogeys and a bogey in four holes around the turn on the way to a seven-over 78.

It was his worst round at a Major since his opening 79 at Royal Portrush in 2019, when he began with an eight.

A change in wind direction from the practice rounds again blew the 35-year-old Northern Irishman off course.