At Royal Troon, Rory McIlroy will be looking to move past the heartbreak he experienced at the US Open.
According to Rory McIlroy, his choke at the US Open last month “hurt way more” than his failure to win The Open two years ago. The 35-year-old has experienced a few near-misses at major tournaments recently; Bryson DeChambeau denied him just a few weeks ago.
McIlroy overcame a three-shot deficit the previous night, but he lost his chances of winning on two of the final three holes when he missed par putts within four feet. Understandably distraught, he watched as DeChambeau holed the game-winning putt and stormed off without congratulating his opponent.
Although it was one of McIlroy’s worst chokes ever, the Northern Irishman acknowledged that he felt even worse following his 2022 loss at The Open. After blowing a commanding lead at St Andrews, where Cameron Smith arrived late to take the lead, he broke down in tears.
In an interview with The Guardian, McIlroy reflected on the incident and stated, “This hurts a lot less than St Andrews.” God, oh God. I stopped crying after this. It’s the University of St Andrews. The Open is this. a three-shot advantage on 10. It was the 150th. I received incredible support from the crowd there.”
This weekend marks McIlroy’s second chance to snap his ten-year wait for a major championship, as The Open makes its Royal Troon return after an eight-year break. After taking a brief break from the game, he continued to explain that he had already dealt with his heartbreaking loss at the US Open.
Was the chance to win a major an amazing one? Without a doubt,” he said. “It hurt, and it was awfully difficult at the time. People would be shocked, in my opinion, at how quickly I moved on and got over it.
“That [outside noise] is too loud for me to focus on. One possible consequence of my decision to withhold my statement from the media was that it led to a three-week period of conjecture during which people speculated about what might have happened to me, but we will never know for sure because he didn’t say.
“I have faith in those in my vicinity. I don’t have to look for outside advice. People would be referring to me as the world’s best golfer if the competition finished in 68 holes. You must possess an unwavering optimism. If you participate in 25 tournaments annually and win three of them, you rank among the greatest players in history.
“We lose far more often than we succeed. Yes, I should have won and was in a great position to do so, but this is not the first time I have let an opportunity pass me by. Most likely, it won’t be the last. It must be viewed from a continuum. Although difficult, it was only one tournament.”
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