Rory McIlroy's desperate attempt to make it into the weekend field at the Irish Open has ended in disappointment.

The World No 1 appeared to be building some momentum during his second round at Royal County Down until a double-bogey on the 15th ended his chances.

Instead, the tournament host had to settle for a level-par 71 today that left him stranded on 9-over par and four shots outside the projected cut.

McIlroy says that he gave it his best shot today, but that it was not to be.

"I was trying out there as hard as I could but I just couldn't get a good run of holes going or any momentum. I was a couple under through 14 but I still needed a good finish. Unfortunately, I was not able to do that, so I just really left myself too much to do from yesterday and I felt like I played a solid round of golf today but it just wasn't enough," he said.