McIlroy encourages Scott after British bust

• By Ryan Ballengee
• Jul 31, 2012 10:26 PM ET

Adam Scott's slow burn at Lytham in the British Open may be the most recent major meltdown, but Rory McIlroy had a substantial disappointment of his own a year ago at the Masters. McIlroy then won the U.S. Open two months later. 

If anyone could speak with the Aussie about how to move on, it would be the Ulsterman.

"I sent (Scott) a text straight after," McIlroy said Tuesday at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. "I sort of felt like I knew how he was feeling. I just said to him, don't let the last four holes hide the fact that you played better than everyone else for the first 68."

McIlroy told himself something similar after the Masters: He played 63 great holes; it was the 64th that got him.

At the time, however, McIlroy despaired he would never recover.

"At that moment in time you think it's the only chance you're ever going to get, and your whole world came crashing down," he said. "But in reality, Adam is such a great player that he's going to have plenty of chances to win more major championships."

The world No. 3 noted Scott was just another in a series of players to drop substantial final-round leads this season. While the lead may seem like a curse, however, McIlroy would not want to be in any other place on the leaderboard.

"If you said to me coming into this Sunday of this tournament would you rather be one ahead or one behind," he said, "I'd say be one ahead every day."