Rory McIlory Says He's 'Optimistic About the Future' After T6 Finish at British Open

Another year has come and gone and Rory McIlroy's major championship drought continues.

McIlroy, the No. 2-ranked golfer in the world, finished tied for sixth place at The Open Championship this past weekend at the Royal Liverpool Golf Club. It's been nine years since he last won a major, winning the PGA and The Open back in 2014.

Despite his struggles on the biggest stages, the 34-year-old superstar remains as confident as ever that his time will come soon.

"I'm optimistic about the future," McIlroy said following his final round at The Open. "I just keep looking forward."

It was a heartbreakingly close major season for McIlroy, given that he finished in the top-10 of three of the four tournaments, including second-place at the US Open back in June where he ended up just one stroke behind winner Wyndham Clark.

The only major in which he struggled was the Masters, not making the cut at Augusta.

In a rainy final round Sunday at The Open, McIlroy entered the day just nine shots back of the lead and started off strong, making three birdies in the first six holes, putting himself in position to at least contend for the Claret Jug.

Unfortunately, his putter and driver cooled off a bit and he wasn't able to continue his push for the lead, finishing seven strokes back of eventual champion Brian Harman, a first-time major winner.

"It was just hard," McIlroy said. "I needed to go out and shoot something 63, 64-ish, but really hard to do that in those conditions."

With major season now gone, McIlroy is just focused on winning as much as he can over the rest of the year, setting his sights on the FedEx Cup, Race to Dubai and Ryder Cup.

He's choosing not to focus on the drought as much.

"I improved on my score every day," McIlroy said. "Not spectacular, but a lot of optimism going into the rest of the year."