Rory McIlroy says he has moved on from US Open debacle

NORTH BERWICK, Scotland – More than three weeks after losing the final three holes of the U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2, Rory McIlroy on Wednesday called the final round “a great day until it didn’t.”

McIlroy missed short putts on Nos. 16 and 18, giving Bryson DeChambeau a one-stroke victory and his second U.S. Open title when the LIV Golf League captain hit a chip shot from 55 yards into the fairway bunker And made a distance of about 4 feet. A par putt to finish 6 under.

“I got over it very quickly,” McIlroy said during a press conference at the Genesis Scottish Open, where he will try to defend his title at The Renaissance Club. “The next few days were very difficult at times, but I think I did a good job of thinking about it rationally and creatively and taking what I needed from it and trying to learn from it. But For the most part it’s like it was a great day. I keep telling people, ‘It was a great day until it didn’t happen.'”

McIlroy, ranked No. 2 in the Official World Golf Ranking, took a two-stroke lead after birdies at Nos. 9, 10, 12 and 13 to move to 8 under. But he bogeyed on numbers 15, 16. And 18 will fall back to 5 under. On the par-3 15th, he hit his tee shot over the green and couldn’t get up and down for par.

McIlroy said he started feeling uncomfortable after hitting his first putt on No. 16. After waiting for Patrick Cantlay’s putt, McIlroy hit a 2½-foot putt too hard and his ball bounced. He had not missed a single putt within 3 feet all season.

“Halfway through the first putt, it looked like it might be a birdie, and it ran to a foot where I thought it was going to be over,” McIlroy said. “Then I marked it, and then Patrick was hitting his putt and he could take his time. Obviously, the greens are tough. It’s a Sunday finish at the U.S. Open. Like, you really have to deliberate that. What are you doing.”

McIlroy said he read his second putt on the 16th right of center but pulled it in by just a touch.

“Probably started it straight, maybe a touch left of center, and the green caught it, and it caught the left edge,” McIlroy said. “It wasn’t a terrible putt, but I did feel a little uneasy before I hit it.”

After dragging his tee shot into the original area on No. 18, McIlroy could only drive his approach to the fairway. His ball stopped just short of the green and he jumped 4 feet. McIlroy said he wanted to make sure he didn’t blow his par putt past the hole if he missed. He did not make a par putt.

“I left it on the wrong side of the hole,” McIlroy said. “I got to the top of the hole where the hole was cut at the top of the short slope and got pretty dry and flaky around the hole. And the chip shot went out just a little bit and went past the hole. I made that putt. Hit it very, very easy, and obviously missed the low side, and yet it went by 3 or 4 feet.

“So I was probably playing it with, I don’t know, like two, two and a half cups left, whatever. It had a lot of swing, especially considering how easily I was hitting it. Like I said, If it was match play and the next one didn’t matter, I would approach the putt differently.”

McIlroy was trying to win his first major championship since the 2014 PGA Championship. He will bring a nearly 10-year major drought to fruition at the Open Championship at Royal Troon Golf Course in Scotland next week, where he will once again be among the favorites to win the Claret Jug.

Since another heartbreaking finish in a major, McIlroy has not played a competitive round. He withdrew from the Travelers Championship, the last signature event of the PGA Tour season, and spent three days in New York.

“I think as you get more in the game, you can soften the blow if you look at all the things I’ve been able to accomplish,” McIlroy said. “It’s been a while since I’ve won a major. It hurt, but after a few other losses I felt bad. After Augusta in ’11 I felt even worse, and St. Andrews (the 2022 Open Championship ) I felt even worse, but not the hardest one.”

McIlroy will be looking to bounce back at this week’s Scottish Open. In last year’s tournament, McIlroy posted birdies on the final two holes, hitting his approach from 205 yards to 11 feet on No. 18. His birdie putt gave him a 72-hole total of 15 under, one better than Scotland’s Robert McIntyre.

“When I look back on that day, as I look back at some of the toughest moments of my career, I’ll learn a lot from it, and hopefully I’ll put it to good use,” McIlroy said. “It’s something that’s been a theme throughout my career. I’ve been able to take those tough moments and turn them into great things shortly thereafter.”