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Usually a gracious competitor in defeat,
McIlroy could not stomach this latest setback nor escape
Pinehurst fast enough as he loaded up his car, got behind the
wheel and left the property.
McIlroy was in prime position to end his barren run at the
majors but shockingly missed two par putts inside of four feet
over his last three holes and ultimately finished one stroke
back of DeChambeau.
It marked the fourth runner-up finish in a major for the
Northern Irishman including at last year's U.S. Open, but none
came in a more crushing fashion.
"He'll win multiple more major championships. There's no doubt,"
said DeChambeau. "I think that fire in him is going to continue
to grow."
McIlroy began the day three shots back of 54-hole leader
DeChambeau but, bolstered by a sizzling stretch around the turn
where he had four birdies across five holes, had a two-shot lead
with five holes to play.
The wheels started to come off when McIlroy bogeyed the
par-three 15th where he failed to get up and down after his tee
shot rolled off the back of the green.
He then made a second consecutive bogey when, for the first time
all season, he missed a par putt from inside three feet.
McIlroy left the door open for DeChambeau when he missed the
fairway at 18, advanced it just off the front of the green with
his next shot, chipped it just past the hole and then watched
his par putt from inside four feet lip out.
"For him to miss that putt, I'd never wish it on anybody. It
just happened to play out that way," said DeChambeau.
As DeChambeau scrambled brilliantly for par on the final hole to
seal the win, McIlroy, watching from inside a scoring tent,
quickly cut a dejected figure and headed to his car.
The scene of McIlroy leaving Pinehurst was in stark contrast to
last month's PGA Championship where runner-up DeChambeau went
back to the 18th green to congratulate Xander Schauffele after a
closing birdie sealed his win.
"At the end of the day we are all human," said Frenchman
Matthieu Pavon, who finished fifth at the U.S. Open, three shots
back of DeChambeau. "Rory has been chasing another major since
many years. He is one of the best players in the world, a true
champion. It shows you how tough it is.
"The more you want it, the tougher it gets, and the highest
expectation you have for yourself, the tougher it gets, the more
pressure you got into.
"Maybe this is a little bit of pressure that got him today for
sure, but Rory is just a massive champion. I'm sure he will
fight back and really soon."
McIlroy's next shot at winning his first major title since the
PGA Championship in August 2014 will be at the July 18-21
British Open.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Chris Reese) [© 2024 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
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