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Rory McIlroy: World number three denied by Rasmus Hojgaard in Irish Open thriller
This will be another bitter pill for McIlroy to swallow at the end of a week that for a long time promised to deliver one of the most stirring wins of his career.
Having finished his third round with an untidy bogey six, he got moving in the right direction immediately with a birdie at the par-five first, the easiest hole on the course, producing an early roar from the huge crowds that followed him in perfect scoring conditions.
He knocked his approach to kick-in distance at the second and moved to eight-under, but his momentum stalled thereafter. After a run of four pars, he dropped a shot at the par-three seventh after failing to get up-and-down from left of the green.
A sense of frustration grew over the next two holes, passing up presentable birdie chances on both. But with Brown and Hojgaard keeping the pressure up, Manassero and McIlroy made timely birdies on the 11th, with McIlroy’s moving him two clear with seven to play.
Failing to pick up a birdie on the par-five 12th, McIlroy parred 13 and 14 before a rollercoaster finish. Following a dropped shot at 15, he got back into a tie with Hojgaard with a birdie at 16.
But McIlroy came unstuck at the penultimate hole as he rushed his birdie putt way past the hole and failed to convert the par try coming back.
And despite a valiant effort at the final hole, McIlroy was unable to elude another gut-wrenching miss on a big stage.
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