The 23-year-old McIlroy failed to make the weekend at the Players Championshop for the third time in three attempts

Rory McIlroy has vowed to get to grips with the TPC Sawgrass course after missing the cut at the Players Championship yet again - although the frustrated world No.1 admits it might take him 20 years.

The 23-year-old, who came into the tournament on the back on a brilliant runner-up performance at Quail Hollow last week that saw him regain top spot in the rankings, failed to make the weekend for the third time in three attempts.

McIlroy controversially opted out of the Players last year, a decision he has since revealed was a major mistake. However, that would have seemed a eureka moment based on his two days’ work in Florida, the Northern Irishman shooting rounds of 72 and 76 to be sent packing early for the first time in 23 starts.

The 23-year-old McIlroy failed to make the weekend at the Players Championshop for the third time in three attempts

And a wounded McIlroy insisted he just has to move on from the set-back, especially as he has his US Open crown to defend next month.

“I just need to try and get the hang of this golf course somehow,” he said. “I just find it pretty difficult. Off the tee I find pretty difficult around here.

“You have really got to position your ball in the fairway and to give yourself at least a chance to get to some of these pins. I just didn’t do that over the last couple of days.

“I’ll come back. I promise,” McIlroy added. “I mean, hopefully I’m coming back here for another 20 years. If I don’t figure it out on my 20th go, there’s something wrong.

“Something about this place I just can’t quite get to grips with. It’s just a course that you have to figure out, and it’s taken me a while.

“I’ll come back next year and try to make it to the weekend.” McIlroy will spend the next seven days fine-tuning his game for the BMW PGA Championship, and said:

“I’ve got a week off. I’ll go back to Europe and get ready for Wentworth. “But it’s unbelievable. I shoot 14-under last week and I feel like I hit it just the same this week, and I’m going home. It’s just one of those things.

“But you know, I’m not getting down on myself about it. I played well last week, and I’ve got a big part of the season coming up to get ready for and looking forward to that.”