Rory McIlroy rues 'lost opportunity' after strong finish to week at The Open

Rory McIlroy was left rueing a poor start to The Open after an impressive finish to the week at Royal Birkdale.

The world No 4 came into the event off the back of consecutive missed cuts and bogeyed five of his first six holes in an opening-round 71, but bounced back to shoot 68 and 69 over the next two days.

McIlroy then fired a three-under 67 on Sunday to end the week in a share of fourth spot, although he regrets not putting more pressure on the top of the leaderboard earlier in the week.

"It's a lost opportunity," McIlroy said. "I felt like I had a chance (yesterday) to get in a few shots better than I did and I didn't.

"That would have put me a bit closer to the lead going out today and I would have been able to put a bit of pressure on the guys in front of me. But that's the way it goes.

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"I wish I could have had that start back, but these things happen and I'm just proud of how I held it together and battled."

Playing alongside Ross Fisher, McIlroy parred the first eight holes before rolling in a six-foot birdie at the ninth and adding another from 10 feet at the 11th.

McIlroy pulled his tee shot into thick rough on his way to a bogey at the par-five 15th, only to bounce back to drain a 15-foot eagle at the 17th and get up-and-down from a bunker to save par at the last.

"It was a step in the right direction, I guess," McIlroy added. "Looking at what happened the last few weeks, this is obviously a lot better.

"The game is in much better shape than it was heading into this week, so I'm happy with that. It's hard whenever you feel like you've had a chance to win a major and you're not quite there.

"It's disappointing, but at the same time I have to take the positives and I'm looking forward to the next few weeks."