McIlroy slips into his own house of misery

AUGUSTA, GA. - One man screamed, "Way to go, Rory!"

And after Rory McIlroy concluded a television interview, CBS' Peter Kostis gave him a hug.

"You'll get 'em, Rory!" hollered another man.

Golf can be a cruel game, and the Masters patrons know it.

McIlroy knew his Masters run -- which lasted for 3 1/2 rounds -- was history after he hooked his tee shot into Rae's Creek on No. 13, but this sport does not permit you to say: "No mas."

And if you have mettle, you face a mob of reporters and answer questions about your failures.

McIlroy, 21, did that Sunday off the 18th green with the giant scoreboard serving as a backdrop. It still had his name on the top line.

The red numbers showed "11" after the ninth hole. Then 8-7-5-5-5-4-4-4-4.

"I was leading this golf tournament with nine holes to go," he said, "and I just unraveled."

McIlroy, 12 under to start the day and four clear of everyone, shot an 8-over 80.

"It's going to be hard to take for a few days, but I'll get over it," McIlroy said. "A couple of pretty good friends were in a similar position to me last year in Dustin Johnson and Nick Watney."

Watney shot 81 in the final round of the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits. Johnson collapsed at the Pebble Beach U.S. Open, closing with 82.

"Thinking about switching my TV off," friend and U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell tweeted shortly thereafter. "This just got ugly."