After an excruciating finish to his final round, Rory McIlroy appeared to be ending his ten-year wait for a fifth major championship title. However, the Northern Irishman was unable to come through.
At the 72nd hole of this week’s U.S. Open, Rory McIlroy chose to ignore his own advice and went on to painfully lose the title to Bryson DeChambeau by just one shot.
With five holes remaining at Pinehurst No. 2, McIlroy opened up a two-shot lead, putting himself in a prime position to win his first major championship since 2014. However, after bogeying the 15th and 16th holes, which included a missed putt from inside three feet, it turned out to be a final stretch to forget.
The Northern Irishman, who was a group ahead of DeChambeau, stammered through his run, but with one hole remaining, he was still in a tie for the lead at six-under.
Many were surprised, though, when McIlroy chose to hit driver in the final round—something he had avoided doing the three rounds prior, having mostly played three-wood the entire competition. The 35-year-old was in a lot of trouble in Pinehurst after the next drive missed left.
McIlroy was left short of the green after being forced to punch his effort out of the native area down the left. He then played a good chip shot onto the putting green, finishing with a distance of just under six feet for par. The same fate befell him at hole eighteen after he had missed a short one two holes earlier, and this would cost him dearly.
Similar to McIlroy, DeChambeau hit a driver down the left, but he was able to secure the trophy for the United States with an incredible bunker shot that allowed him to go up and down. McIlroy’s two short putts that went missing will undoubtedly stick in his memory, but he might also feel remorse for his 18th tee shot.
The PGA Tour player previously this week acknowledged that his strategy was to play “boresome golf” in order to secure his fifth major championship. In the build-up, the 2011 U.S. Open champion remarked, “Honestly, embracing what I would have called ‘boring’ back in the day.”
“Being flamboyant won’t win you a U.S. Open. It involves gradually increasing your score over the course of four days and accepting that as part of the process. To be honest, it’s really more of a mentality reframe than anything else.
When signing for his card, McIlroy appeared noticeably dejected after witnessing DeChambeau’s winning putt. The four-time major champion chose to forego all media appearances in the wake of the incident and quickly left the Pinehurst site. The 35-year-old has committed to compete in the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands the following week, so he will need to get back up quickly over the next day or two.
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