Rory McIlroy isn’t as concerned about his collapse in the final three holes of the U.S. Open as golf fans would think.
“I got over it pretty quickly. The few days after it were pretty tough at times, but I feel like I’ve done a good job of thinking about it rationally and constructively and taking what I need from it and trying to learn from it,” McIlroy, 36, explained at a news conference at the Genesis Scottish Open on Wednesday, July 10. But, like, for the most part, it was a great day. I keep saying to people, ‘It was a great day until it wasn’t.’”
McIlroy recalled feeling uncomfortable after hitting his first putt on the 16th hole.
“Like halfway down the first putt, it looked like it could be a birdie, and it ran a foot past where I thought it was going to finish,” he continued. “Obviously, greens are tough. It’s the end of a Sunday at the U.S. Open. Like, you have to be really deliberate in what you’re doing. … If it was match play and the next one didn’t matter, I would have approached the putt differently.”
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During his final round at Pinehurst Country Club on Sunday, June 16, McIlroy missed short putts on the 16th and 18th holes, which paved the way for Bryson DeChambeau to win the championship by one stroke.
McIlroy, who finished in second place, reflected on the loss via social media, writing, “Firstly, I’d like to congratulate Bryson. He is a worthy champion and exactly what professional golf needs right now. I think we can all agree on that. As I reflect on my week, I’ll rue a few things over the course of the tournament, mostly the 2 missed putts on 16 and 18 on the final day.”
He added: “As I said at the start of the tournament, I feel closer to winning my next major championship than I ever have. The one word that I would describe my career as is resilient. I’ve shown my resilience over and over again in the last 17 years and I will again.”
McIlroy has since withdrawn from the last signature event of the PGA Tour season, the Travelers Championship. He is returning to the course for the Genesis Scottish Open from July 11 to 14 and The Open at the Royal Troon July 14 to 21.
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Ahead of the golf event, McIlroy reflected on his approach to his upcoming competitions.
“I think as you achieve more in the game, you can soften the blow, if you look at everything I’ve been able to accomplish,” he explained at the news conference. “It’s been a while since I’ve won a major. It hurt, but I felt worse after some other losses. I felt worse after Augusta in ’11, and I felt worse after St Andrews [the 2022 Open Championship]. It was up there with the tough losses but not the toughest.”
McIlroy is using his U.S Open collapse as a lesson.
“When I look back on that day, just like I look back on some of my toughest moments in my career, I’ll learn a lot from it, and I’ll hopefully put that to good use,” he concluded. “It’s something that’s been a bit of a theme throughout my career. I’ve been able to take those tough moments and turn them into great things not very long after that.”
