Rory McIlory has made an early departure from the US Open for a second year on the bounce after missing the cut at Erin Hills.The World No.2 was making his first appearance since the Players Championship - where he picked up a rib injury - but clearly wasn’t back to his best after posting a disappointing first round of 78.It was only his sixth competitive start of the year, and despite getting a birdie at four of the last six holes, he managed just one-under par to come in at 71 on his second go - finishing four shots below the cut.After the dismal showing, 1995 US PGA champion Steve Elkington clearly had no sympathy for McIlroy, tweeting:“Rory is so bored playing golf… without Tiger [Woods] the threshold is [probably] 4 majors with 100 mill in the bank.”

It didn’t take long for McIlroy to respond, however, saying:

“More like 200 mil… not bad for a “bored” 28 year old… plenty more where that came from.”

The tweet was accompanied by a screenshot of his Wikipedia page listing his achievements in the game.

But Elkington wasn’t done, again questioning the Northern Irishman’s commitment to the sport:

“New you were a money guy. Jack [Nicklaus] won 18 and never mentioned his total cash.. It was 5 mill.”

McIlroy then turned into the grammar police and was not impressed, replying:

“That's why jack designed 100's of golf courses... and it's knew... mustn't have taught grammar in the 50's.”

It might not be the end of this particular spat, however, it is the end of McIlroy in this year's US Open.

“I showed up for the last 6 holes at least, I saw some positives there on the back nine going in," said as per Sky Sports.

“Even though it's very disappointing to not be here on the weekend, I think these last two rounds will serve me well going into the summer.

“I missed the cut, but I'm optimistic going forward. I know I'm doing the right thing. I feel good about the putting, and I just have to put four rounds under my belt.”

The plan now is for McIlroy to play three tournaments in four weeks to keep himself sharp going into the Open Championship next month.