Shortly before 4 p.m. Sunday, the clouds briefly broke and the heat rose around Pinehurst. Many of the best players in the world had already fallen at the feet of this unforgiving cradle of American golf. But Rory McIlroy was still standing.
After three and a half exhausting days. After 10 years of pain and hard lessons. Since he won the 2014 PGA Championship, a fifth major has remained a mirage on the horizon. McIlroy has nursed the scars and fought the doubts. He visited Jesus and decided that only by learning patience would he avoid more waiting. Everything for afternoons like this. There have been a few.
There have been near misses and McIlroy has let glory slip through his fingers before. But never like this.
McIlroy felt before this US Open that he was closer than ever to ending his drought. He was right.
With three holes left on an extraordinary final day of a crazy week, the Northern Irishman led Bryson DeChambeau by one stroke. He had a par putt from 2 feet 6 inches. He missed it. And then, on the 18th, McIlroy had another par putt from 3 feet 9 inches. He missed it.
Rory McIlroy lost the US Open in the most devastating way on Sunday afternoon
With the tournament ahead, McIlroy missed two putts within four feet.
Many will wonder how McIlroy, 35, will recover from such bitter devastation.
That opened the door for DeChambeau to win his second US Open. He had a par putt from 3 feet 11 inches. He didn’t miss it.
One wonders how McIlroy will recover from this. You have to wonder if that fifth major will ever come.
Both he and DeChambeau had promised boring golf all week. They both gave us an incredible tug of war. Each hole brought more and more chaos. McIlroy started the day three shots behind, but by the 14th tee he was already two ahead.
It was the first time he was the absolute leader all week. It was never going to be so easy. But having turned the tide with four birdies in five holes, McIlroy, the 2011 champion, turned the gun on him. He bogeyed 15, 16 and 18 and watched DeChambeau win it with a notable up-and-down.
After hitting his drive near the stands, the 2020 Champion hit the ball into a bunker. Somehow, he pulled it off—”it was the shot of my life”—and held his nerve. In the second consecutive US Open, McIlroy lost by one shot. That’s now 20 top-10 finishes since the last time he won a major.
After DeChambeau claimed victory, the Northern Irishman could only bow his head and then run towards the car. McIlroy was out of Pinehurst in an instant, but he won’t be able to avoid the implications of this. A week that began with the news that his divorce was canceled ended in heartbreak.
The standings show that this final round 69 left him five under par, one behind DeChambeau, one ahead of Tony Finau and Patrick Cantlay. What doesn’t it show? That McIlroy came within 7 feet of lifting the trophy.
This was the first time he and Cantlay had played together since last year’s Ryder Cup, when tensions boiled over in Rome. Yesterday there was a warm hug on the first tee before both began a common mission: attract DeChambeau.
McIlroy’s week began when he called off his divorce from his wife of seven years, Erica Stoll.
But the manner of his implosion on Sunday will leave McIlroy still feeling heartbroken.
McIlroy’s collapse left Bryson DeChambeau available to win his second US Open
At that time, the night leader was busy in the field, testing new pilots’ heads 15 minutes before their departure time.
It’s been four years since DeChambeau won this tournament, gaining 40 pounds and turning his game into a living science experiment.
The 30-year-old became a pantomime villain and then a LIV rebel. Recently, however, DeChambeau has become an unlikely favorite.
There are many who wonder if this new image is a carefully curated public relations exercise. Pinehurst didn’t care at all. And on Sunday, DeChambeau was immediately forced to back down. His first tee shot landed on a hole and then a roar went down the fairway as McIlroy sank an opening birdie putt from 20 feet. We had takeoff.
DeChambeau’s first drive with that new face failed in the fairway and the leader struggled on several of the first holes. His recovery ability, so impressive on Saturday, failed four and suddenly the difference was one.
DeChambeau could count himself lucky that Cantlay also had an early wobble. And that McIlroy was the victim of brutal luck. A strong second shot at the par-five fifth appeared to have created a potential eagle opportunity.
Instead, McIlroy’s ball slid into the native area and ended with a bogey. It was that kind of day: survive. Make do. Every passing gap brought the prospect of a reshuffle at the top.
McIlroy made brave par saves on seven and eight. He then made the move on him. A birdie on the par-three ninth put him within one of DeChambeau. They were tied minutes later when McIlroy went backwards and unleashed chaos in the galleries around the 10th green.
McIlroy was visibly stunned by the putt that refused to fall on the 18th green.
The Northern Irishman’s face was an image of devastation after a brutal and humiliating end.
Behind him, DeChambeau was wayward off the tee and taking advantage of his luck. However, soon he was alone again. At least for a few minutes. McIlroy just didn’t let DeChambeau get away: After the 2020 champion moved to seven under with a 10, McIlroy responded with another birdie.
And then the tables turned. The Northern Irishman birdied No. 13, DeChambeau bogeyed No. 12, and we had a two-shot swing. Another should have followed almost immediately, as McIlroy ran into trouble and DeChambeau had a makeable birdie putt.
The Northern Irishman bogeyed at 15 but then, somehow, so did his rival. What a time for DeChambeau to make his first three putts of the entire week. What a moment for McIlroy to miss from within three feet.
He shot 496 of 496 from there this season to finish in 16th place. He couldn’t miss the greens for much of Sunday. And then, suddenly, McIlroy couldn’t do anything. The wait continues. The bleeding just won’t stop.