Out-of-form McIlroy facing a missed cut in US Open defence
Published:Things could not look much worse heading into a US Open title defence for Rory McIlroy and it is 6/1 that he misses the cut in California.
McIlroy’s season had started promisingly with victory in the Honda Classic and a few other top-five finishes.
However, things began to take a worse midway through the Masters when falling out of contention in the third round and he has had further troubles since.
McIlroy first missed the cut at the Players Championship, although this was largely considered to be a one-off blip.
Things became slightly more worrying when he also failed to progress to the final two rounds in the BMW Championship and he has now missed the cut for a third time in the Memorial on the PGA Tour, where he found to shoot a single birdie in his second-round 79.
The world number two has no obvious solution to his problem, but remains optimistic that his game is not in the shape that his scores suggests and just one or two small mistakes are having maximum consequences.
Meanwhile, on the whole he remains happy with his ball striking.
Despite the setbacks, McIlroy remains the 10/1 joint favourite to successfully defend his US Open crown, with the Olympic Club in San Francisco preparing to host the major for the fifth time and first since Lee Janzen’s triumph in 1998.
McIlroy does have the option of taking part in the St Jude Classic for just the second time as a last effort to attempt to rekindle some form.
If he does decide to take part, it is 8/1 that McIlroy heads to the US Open on the back of four straight missed cuts.
