PINEHURST, N.C. — Less than seven minutes after Bryson DeChambeau’s ball fell into the cup, Rory McIlroy’s Lexus SUV was taken from his The sound of tires tearing on the pavement echoed throughout the Pinehurst Resort as the 2011 U.S. Open champion pulled out of the parking lot on the day of his departure. He stared into the distance as his agent and caddies talked around him. No interviews. The 35-year-old Northern Irishman simply threw his clubs and gym bag into the trunk, climbed into the driver’s seat and put the car into reverse gear. The U.S. Open ends at 6:38 p.m.
Just 90 minutes ago, McIlroy strode onto the 14th fairway, ready to redefine his career. Ten years without a major. A decade of pain and close calls, a man who won four majors by the age of 25 only to lose again and again. At this point, with five holes left in the U.S. Open, he was two shots ahead of Bryson DeChambeau and the rest of the field.
But Rory McIlroy didn’t win the 2024 U.S. Open.
McIlroy then suffered three bogeys and missed two three-foot putts, ultimately losing to DeChambeau. This will be remembered more than any of his four wins.
McIlroy walked off the No. 14 tee box while chewing a nutrition bar and leaned over to peek at the No. 13 green on the right. McIlroy was two shots ahead as he was coming off 13 birdies, while DeChambeau (who entered the final group as the 54-hole leader) bogeyed the 12th hole. No. 4, a par-4, teed off safely and made a putt. DeChambeau made a final birdie to bring the lead to one shot.
McIlroy was three strokes behind DeChambeau on Sunday at Pinehurst. He wasn’t supposed to win this championship, but he seemed to go and grab it. Through 13 holes, we saw the version of McIlroy many had prayed for over the past decade. He looked like a killer, or some version of one. He birdied the first hole and added long putts for birdie on the 9th, 10th, 12th and 13th holes. He earned this major.
But golf is not a sport unsuitable for premature narrative formation.
😱😱😱😱
Rory missed the ball on the 18th.
Bryson can win the U.S. Open at 18 par. pic.twitter.com/lSk0ZzzZK2
— U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 16, 2024
He made par on the 14th hole. It was one of the toughest holes of the day and DeChambeau also had a bogey.
On hole 16, fear began to show. But he missed it. It’s not very close, around the left edge. Yet McIlroy remained committed to keeping his cool. The moment he missed, he spread his palms and made a “calm down” gesture. Yet at Pinewood Two, a familiar mood prevails. Not again.
No matter how hard McIlroy tried to steel himself, he hit his tee shot into the left bunker on the par-3 17th. To his credit, he hit a nice, soft shot out of the sand and saved par.
But what happened next suggests that things may have been over long before they were truly over.
McIlroy put the putter back in his bag and leaned over to grab his driver, his eyes bulging in a scary grimace. Game plans were thrown out the window. The thought of him coming here was gone. He flies blindly.
Look, McIlroy has a plan this week. He talked about it almost every day from Tuesday to Saturday. Boring golf. Disciplined golf. Bogeys will happen, so never panic. “Just trying to be super stoic,” McIlroy said Tuesday. “Just trying to stay even.” He played 71 holes and went through it all. His game can be defined by how impressive he is, making the kind of ugly, tough par saves that historically have been missed.
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But between the ages of 16 and 18, McIlroy stared at the headlights, not ready to look away. He’s a different golfer now. His eyes look like he’s going through each heartbreaking scenario and then bringing them to life. Maybe we should know then.
So, for some inexplicable reason, McIlroy pulled the driver. Why, oh why, did he want his driver? The day before, he hit the 3-wood, leaving only a 133-yard wedge in the hole. Perhaps McIlroy, probably the best golfer in recent years, thought this would be his signature moment. Maybe he was still giving chase even though he was tied up. Either way, McIlroy’s tee shot was too left — into Pinehurst’s infamous home stretch, just in front of a patch of wire grass. He has no play. He hit an awkward little roller ball off the front of the green. His short game was strong again, missing the 18th hole by 3 feet, 9 inches.
He missed it. again.
It was as if Bill Buckner let the second ball go through his legs. There is no explanation and no defense. McIlroy’s short, slick putt broke immediately to the right and hit the right edge of the hole. Rory McIlroy just had 3 bogeys in his last 4 holes, handing the 2024 U.S. Open title to Bryson DeChambeau Providing space, he was able to make an incredible up-and-down par in the No. 18 bunker to take the title. If McIlroy had made both three-foot putts, he would have won the U.S. Open. If he makes one, he’ll make the playoffs. But he did neither.
McIlroy signed the scorecard in the scoring tent and watched the end of the match on television with a tinge of hope. He ate another nutritional bar during a shot in the DeChambeau bunker. On his final putt, his hat hung loosely atop his head and his hands rested on his hips. He took his last nervous, stomach-churning breath before the putt fell into the hole. Door. He packed his bags and headed toward the Lexus.
The golfer, known for his eloquent speeches on all subjects, declined to speak to the media. There is nothing more to say.
McIlroy’s career began with a collapse. At just 23 years old, he entered the 2011 Masters on Sunday with a four-shot lead, but shot a disastrous 80 and was eliminated. People will always remember that day, but two months later he won the U.S. Open. This is the first of four majors in as many years. He seemed to be chasing the greats.
He never won another major championship.
With five holes to play on Sunday, Rory McIlroy leads by two shots. (Jared Tilton/Getty Images)
But unlike many other sports stars, McIlroy’s game has not faded away. He has been one of the three or four best players in the world for the better part of a decade. He won 26 PGA Tour events. Since then, he has finished in the top ten in 21 of 37 major championships. By most metrics, the past three years have been his best. He just can’t win. Most people wouldn’t even call him “The Choker.” First, he started poorly and ended up being great. Then, over the past three years, someone took it away from him. He shot a perfect 70 on Sunday at the 2022 British Open. At the 2023 U.S. Open, he entered Wyndham Clark’s defense. They had the same score on Sunday. He didn’t give it to anyone else.
Will the 2024 U.S. Open be played at Pinehurst? Rory McIlroy choked up.
McIlroy has made many enemies in his time, two of whom he has clashed with most often, two players as synonymous with their epic collapses as Greg Norman and Phil Mixon The eight Grand Slams are synonymous with the same. Norman is best known for his six-shot defeat at the 1996 Masters. In the 2006 U.S. Open, Mixon suffered a double bogey on the 18th hole at Winged Foot, handing the victory to Geoff Ogilvy. Now, McIlroy will be with those two forever.
There aren’t many people in the world of sports who can compare to McIlroy’s path. No other athlete or team dynasty has won multiple championships at once to remain at the top of the sport, but become Known as a “choker” at the end of a run. After losing to the Giants in the Super Bowl, the Patriots won three more championships. The core of the 2004 Yankees team was aging, and they won another championship five years later. Jordan Spieth didn’t give up on the majors after winning his third before turning 24 – his performance declined.
The hardest part for McIlroy is always thinking he might get the next one. He’s still so good. He has finished runner-up in a major each of the past three years. There’s an argument to be made that if he continues to put himself in contention, the cards will eventually fall on his head.
But on Sunday, things changed. McIlroy is 35 now, and perhaps the muscle memory has been lost over the past decade. How to put all your dreams into something and make it happen. How to prove the narrative wrong, or hit the perfect shot on every swing that leaves thousands of fans living or dying.
As Rory McIlroy sped out of the Pinewood Resort parking lot on Sunday evening, he was more than just a heartbroken man. He’s always the guy who missed those two putts.
(Top photo: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
