Rory McIlroy endured a nightmare at the Canadian Open, missing the cut after a disastrous second-round 78 that left him tied for 149th out of 153 players.
The world number two's round unravelled at the par-four fifth hole, where he hit his tee shot into the rough, sent his approach over the gallery and into a penalty area, then needed six more shots to complete a quadruple-bogey eight.
The Masters champion finished nine over par for the tournament, missing the cut by 12 shots in what marked his first missed cut of the season.
McIlroy's struggles stemmed from a new driver he'd put in play this week, hitting just four of 14 fairways during his second round and finishing as the second-worst player in strokes gained off the tee.
Rory McIlroy admits major concern going into US Open following another dismal competitionReuters
The Northern Irishman had switched to a 44-inch driver seeking better control after his previous driver was ruled non-conforming before last month's PGA Championship.
With the US Open at Oakmont beginning on 12 June, McIlroy admitted his driving woes are particularly troubling given the course's narrow fairways and thick rough.
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"Yeah, of course it concerns me," McIlroy said after his round.
"You don't want to shoot high scores like the one I did today.
"Still I felt like I came here obviously with a new driver thinking that that sort of was going to be good and solve some of the problems off the tee, but it didn't."
The five-time major winner revealed this was his second unsuccessful attempt with the new driver model this year.
"I was saying to Harry [Diamond, his caddy] going down the last this is the second time this year I've tried the new version, and it hasn't quite worked out for me. So I'd say I'll be testing quite a few drivers over the weekend," he said.
McIlroy's previous driver failed USGA testing before the PGA Championship, where he finished 47th.
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Rory McIlroy's struggles have left him concerned ahead of the US Open
Reuters
His struggles have already affected his US Open betting odds, slipping from 15/2 to 8-1 at BetMGM whilst Scottie Scheffler moved to 11/4 favourite.
"I think once I made that big number on the front nine, I was always behind the eight ball a little bit. After nine holes, I sort of resigned myself to the fact that I'd be flying home to Florida tonight," McIlroy admitted.
The US Open gets underway next week at Oakmont Country Club in Texas, starting on June 12.
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