McIlroy’s 65 matched a new course record after Royal Portrush had been redesigned with two new holes added for this tournament, but it left him with one stroke too many.
Holywood’s low-key connection to McIlroy is an interesting contrast to Portrush, which has always been keen to bask in the success of its native sons.
McIlroy had risked his future Ryder Cup captaincy had he not joined this year, although most insiders believed the European Tour would have waved this stipulation.
If Dustin Johnson showed up for his pre-Masters press conference on Tuesday afternoon and announced he’d had enough of the golf grind and was retiring at age 34, he could walk off into the Augusta sunset knowing his next metaphorical stop would be the World Golf Hall of Fame.