Rory McIlroy has vowed to "keep knocking on the door" after his bid to end the eight-year wait for a fifth Major Championship title came up narrowly short at The 150th Open Championship on Sunday.
McIlroy went into the final round at St Andrews tied alongside Viktor Hovland at the top of the leaderboard, with the pair four clear of their nearest competitors.
And although the Northern Irishman did not do much wrong in his bogey-free 70 which contained a birdie apiece on the front and back nines, his closing effort was not enough to hold off the charge of Cameron Smith, who took the Claret Jug back to Australia with a spotless Sunday 64.
McIlroy has had an impressive Major season, recording top-ten finishes in all four of golf's showpiece events in 2022.
After finishing third on the Old Course on Sunday, McIlroy has moved top of the DP World Tour Rankings in Partnership with Rolex.
And while he was naturally disappointed to miss out on a historic occasion, the in-form 33-year-old chose to focus on the positives and vowed to keep on fighting.
It wasn't to be for Rory McIlroy.
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) July 17, 2022
Class until the end 👏#150thOpen pic.twitter.com/T1l7rSZMeY
He said: "I'm disappointed obviously. I felt like I didn't do much wrong today, but I didn't do much right either.
"It's just one of those days where I played a really controlled round of golf. I did what I felt like I needed to, just apart from capitalising on the easier holes - around the turn, 9, 12, 14.
"If I had made the birdies there from good positions, it probably would have been a different story.
"But I got beaten by a better player this week - 20 under par for four rounds of golf around here is really, really impressive playing, especially to go out and shoot 64 today to get it done.
"Yeah, I'll rue a few missed putts that slid by. But it's been a good week overall.
"I can't be too despondent because of how this year went and this year's going. I'm playing some of the best golf I've played in a long time.
"So it's just a matter of keep knocking on the door, and eventually one will open.
"I'll have other chances to win the Open Championship and other chances to win Majors. It's one that I feel like I let slip away, but there will be other opportunities."
McIlroy enjoyed exceptional support from the bumper crowds at St Andrews and he paid tribute to them, saying: "I thought the fans were great today.
"I thought they were really, really good. Unbelievably supportive to me.
"I wish I could have given them a little more to cheer about."
