Rory McIlroy is likely to be haunted by letting the 2024 US Open slip through his fingers at Pinehurst, according to a number of high-profile pundits, with his own coach questioning how he can come back from such a devastating loss.
Four birdies in the space of five holes from the ninth had given McIlroy a two-shot final-round lead in pursuit of his fifth major title and a first since 2014, only for the world No 3 to bogey three of the last four holes.
That spell included missed par putts of two feet six inches and three feet nine inches on the 16th and 18th respectively and allowed Bryson DeChambeau to claim his second US Open title with a brilliant par save from a bunker on the last.
Commentating for Sky Sports, the six-times major winner Nick Faldo said: “That’s going to haunt Rory for the rest of his life, those two misses.”
McIlroy did not speak to the media after finishing second on five under par. TV pictures showed him watching the conclusion of DeChambeau’s round from a recorders’ hut; when the winning putt dropped, McIlroy swallowed, sighed deeply and immediately left the room and the course.
DeChambeau had expressed sympathy for his beaten rival. “For him to miss that putt [on 18], I would never wish that on anybody,” DeChambeau said after a final round of 71 left him six under for the tournament, a shot ahead of McIlroy and two clear of Patrick Cantlay and Tony Finau.
“I have nothing but respect for how he plays the game of golf because, to be honest, when he was climbing up the leaderboard, he was two ahead, I was like: ‘Uh-oh, uh-oh.’ But luckily things went my way.”
Before the final few holes, statistics showed McIlroy had not missed from within four feet during the tournament. In the wake of those putts on 16 and 18, Brad Faxon, McIlroy’s putting coach who was working as an analyst on NBC, echoed Faldo’s fears.
“Nobody’s had more pressure on him over the last 10 years,” Faxon said. “Everybody in the world knows Rory hasn’t won a major since 2014. I think it’s the way this happened: the short missed putts there on 16, certainly on 18. I don’t know how you get through this thing. It’s really tough.”
Brandel Chamblee, the US former tour professional, added on NBC: “I can’t remember a higher-quality player coming up smaller in a big moment down the stretch than that.”