Rory McIlroy has been through a lot during his long search for his first major victory in nearly 10 years. On Sunday, fate brutally tempted the Northern Irishman again, as he came so close to ending his winless streak in a major competition that dates all the way back to 2014.
During the final round of the 2024 U.S. Open, McIlroy faltered when he needed himself to be at best form. With a few holes to go, McIlroy suffered crippling miscues that ultimately led to him falling short of outlasting eventual champion Bryson DeChambeau.
When it was all said and done at Pinehurst No. 2, Rory McIlroy carded a score of 5-under 275. That was better than anyone on the field — except DeChambeau, who concluded the tournament with a 6-under 274. For the second year in a row, McIlroy came just a stroke worse than the winner.
“Rory McIlroy is the first player in U.S. Open history to finish alone in 2nd place, 1 shot back, in back-to-back years,” shared Justin Ray, who is the Head of Content for Twenty First Group and a contributor at The Athletic.
Back in 2023, McIlroy was the runner-up to winner Wyndham Clark at the Los Angeles Country Club. McIlroy finished the 2023 edition of the U.S. Open with a score of 9-under 271, while Clark had 10-under 270. Clark had four bogeys in the final round but he steadied his ship with four bogeys in the same round. McIlroy had a birdie in the final round of that tournament and a bogey as well, but the lack of birdies on the last day hurt his chances of beating Clark.
This time around, McIlroy got five birdies on the final day of the 2024 U.S. Open, including one on the 12th that put him atop the leaderboard alone. He followed that up with another birdie on the 13th.
However, McIlroy failed to sustain his form down the stretch. After that birdie on the 13th, McIlroy bogeyed three times and had a par twice the rest of the way. His missed putt on the 18th hole was devastating, as DeChambeau had a par on the same hole to come away with a win. While McIlroy struggled with what should have been an easy four-foot putt on the 18th, DeChambeau pulled off a stunning and miraculous bunker shot to put him just a four-feet putt away from claiming the title, which he converted.
Rory McIlroy still looking for first major since 2014
Rory McIlroy's latest failure to capture a win was another addition to his long list of heartbreaks in a major event. When McIlroy won his fourth major title at the 2014 PGA Championship, which came less than a month after winning that year's The Open Championship, it looked as though he was going to win more in the coming years.
But that simply did not turn out to be the case. Instead, that bookmarked the start of one of the most perplexing individual droughts in golf history. McIlroy's game did not fall off since his last major win, either. He's just not closing well enough. Just take for example his last six major starts. Over that span, McIlroy has cracked the top 10 four times and the top 25 six times.
Still just 35 years old, Rory McIlroy should have plenty of chances to end his major dry spell.
He could do that as soon as this coming July at the Open Championship.
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