Rory McIlroy at US Open 2016: Leaderboard Score, Twitter Reaction from Saturday

Rory McIlroy had a lot of work to do after shooting a seven-over 77 during his first round, which stretched from Thursday to Friday. On Saturday, an early charge to make the cut took a turn for the worse when he recorded a one-over to put him at eight over for the tournament. 

At the time of his finish, he was two strokes below the cut line and all but eliminated early from a major for the first time since the 2013 British Open, per ESPN's Bob Harig.

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
Hole	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18
Par	4	4	4	5	4	3	4	3	4
Score	4	4	6	5	4	4	4	3	6
Par	4	4	5	3	4	4	3	4	4
Score	3	4	4	3	3	4	2	4	4

Starting his day on the back nine, McIlroy quickly surpassed his first-round total of one birdie Saturday. 

Through his first seven holes, he birdied every other one to quickly get to four under on the day and lower his overall score to three over. 

It was a stark contrast from his first round, as ESPN.com's Jason Sobel pointed out:

But his turnaround in play helped return things back to normal for Golf Digest's Mike O'Malley:

Bench Warmers, who reported that McIlroy had one more birdie in that stretch than he actually had, believed that only a fictional character could stop him:

"

The only guy that can stop Rory McIlroy after he putts 5 birdies in 7 holes!!#usopen2016 #USOpen #McIlroy pic.twitter.com/8MQkYL2D3T

— BenchWarmers (@BeWarmers) June 18, 2016"

McIlroy, though, cooled off after his birdie on No. 16, and his turn on to the front nine was a disastrous one. 

On the par-four third hole, McIlroy saw his second shot settle about nine feet from the hole, but his putter went awry. He missed that chance and the three putts after, as he was rocked with a double bogey. 

He continued to battle the tough course at Oakmont, saving par on his next two holes, including this big save on No. 5, per the USGA:

But on No. 6, he dropped another stroke with a bogey to put him at one under on the day and six over for the tournament. 

His fate was all but sealed on his final hole, the par-four ninth, when he shot his second double bogey to bring his tournament to an end. 

While McIlroy was more aggressive Saturday compared to his first round, he just ran out of steam on a course that has proved to be unpredictable so far. So instead of getting a chance to work his way back up the world rankings past Jason Day or Jordan Spieth, McIlroy will now be headed home to watch the final two rounds of the U.S. Open.

Stats courtesy of PGATour.com.