Rory McIlroy accepted that hopes of a second US Open title collapsed at Shinnecock Hills, after finishing tied 32nd on six over par. The Masters champion trailed winner Wyndham Clark by 10 shots, admitting the damage came earlier in the week rather than during the closing round.
Clark secured a second US Open victory by holding off Sam Burns, completing a wire-to-wire display across four demanding days. In contrast, McIlroy slipped down the leaderboard over the weekend, ending a tournament that had begun with realistic chances of contention for another major success.
McIlroy entered Saturday still in the mix, especially with several big names already out, but could not maintain momentum. Consecutive three-over-par rounds of 73 on Saturday and Sunday left the four-time major winner well adrift, with a poor third-round back nine proving especially costly.
That stretch on Saturday included five bogeys on the closing nine holes, turning a potential challenge into a battle for minor positions. McIlroy acknowledged that sequence as decisive, as the round slipped away and any realistic pursuit of Clark faded before the final day’s play even began.
Reflecting on the US Open, McIlroy said: “The wheels came off; I shot myself out of the tournament then. I think it [the course] won the battle over me at this point. Looking back on the entire week, I will rue the back nine yesterday. You try to come outpositive and muster up the energy to put a good one in there, and then after a couple of bogies on the front nine I was trying to race my way to the 18th green.”
The challenging conditions at Shinnecock Hills affected more than McIlroy. Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Jon Rahm and J.J. Spaun all failed to make the cut, underlining how demanding the layout became. McIlroy felt the course gradually wore players down, particularly across a tense and punishing weekend.
Attention for McIlroy now turns from the US Open to links golf, with the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale starting on July 16. McIlroy, who last lifted that trophy in 2014, intends to skip the PGA Tour’s Travelers Championship and instead sharpen form on links courses.
Looking ahead to that stretch, McIlroy said: “It’s my favourite time of the year to go back home and play the Open and get to spend a bit of time back there, McIlroy added. This was not too dissimilar to an Open Championship in how the golf course played over the weekend, but some links golf over the next couple of weeks will be nice.”