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Rory McIlroy Releases Statement On US Open Collapse, Swift Exit

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Rory McIlroy at the US Open.

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Rory McIlroy has responded publicly following his late collapse at the US Open. The golfer released a statement on his finish, as well as his swift exit from the grounds, on Monday.

It was certainly a disappointing end to what had been an outstanding tournament for the Irishman. McIlroy led for a large majority of Sunday’s final round, finding himself up by two shots with five holes left, but a pair of missed putts on 16 and 18 snatched his opportunity at an elusive major win.

The storyline is unfortunately one that’s followed McIlroy over the years. Since winning his last major in 2014, he’s seen a number of near misses.

Those include 20 Top 10 finishes, and nine Top 5s.

The year’s US Open was one of the most painful. McIlroy was in the driver’s seat as the final round wound down, but Bryson DeChambeau just wouldn’t go away.

Rory failed at every opportunity to put his opponent away, with a pair of short misses on the green over his last three holes. While McIlroy seemed to cave with pressure building, DeChambeau thrived.

Things got dicey for him on 18 as he hit his tee shot into the rough, followed by a trip to the bunker on shot 2.

Then, he pulled out his best save of the day.

Rory McIlroy stormed away after DeChambeau sank his par putt.

With his runner-up status decided, he wouldn’t stick around for the media. He was seen swiftly leaving the parking lot, not fielding questions about another painful result.

A day later, McIlroy spoke publicly on the situation in a statement.

First and foremost, he congratulated DeChambeau on the win. He then dove into his finish to the round, as well as his immediate future.

“Yesterday was a tough day,” he said. “Probably the toughest I’ve had in my nearly 17 years as a professional golfer… As I reflect on my week, I’ll rue a few things over the course of the tournament, mostly the two missed putts on 16 and 18… but as I always try to do, I’ll look at the positives of the week that far outweigh the negatives.

“I feel closer to winning my next major championship than I ever have… I’ve shown my resilience over and over again in the last 17 years and I will again. I’m going to take a few weeks away from the game to process everything and build myself back up for my defense of the Genesis Scottish Open and The Open at Royal Troon.”

Rory McIlroy won’t be in the field at the Travelers Championship as he looks to regroup. Hopefully, he can flush the crushing collapse and return with a fresh mindset.