Who knows where Rory McIlroy is now. An hour earlier he was there, ready to win the US Open, to break ten years of major starvation, to resume the race for that number 1 in the world which, currently, is with full merit in the hands of Scottie Scheffler. An hour later he found himself at the 18th, unable to believe that he had missed a putt that would have brought him at least to the playoff with the man who, a few minutes later, proclaimed himself the winner, Bryson DeChambeau.
For Northern Irish, in any language in the world, adjectives are now running out of steam. But the reality is that, trivially, that characteristic of his has emerged again which perhaps prevented him from being able to increase the level of greatness he already has. Because, it must be reiterated, McIlroy won significantly less than he could haveand has already been highly decorated with 40 overall victories as a pro and a path which, after a very opaque period between 2017 and 2018, has brought him back, from 2019 onwards, to being first a competitive player across the board and then a contender for the Majors.
It is true that, from 2022 onwards, he had almost no longer experienced any really bad moments in the four major tournaments (apart from the cut at the 2023 Masters, which however remained an isolated episode). And in Augusta he finished second in 2022, the same year in which he finished third at the Open Championship. And in 2023, at the US Open, he finished in second place. But, if last year he had a particular last round with immediate birdie, bogey on the 14th Wyndham Clark who risked being dragged to the playoff by his own hands, this time something very different happened. Different, clearly, also from Augusta 2022, when he actually made a magnificent comeback that led him to place the only bogey-free round among all the participants in that edition together with a signature -8.
Golf: McIlroy drama, throws away the US Open. Bryson DeChambeau wins for the 2nd time, Francesco Molinari closes behind
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This time, however, the coup is a big one. A putt from less than a meter on the 15th like he had never missed all season, other problems on the 16th. And then the 18th, the fatal 18th. Where, of course, DeChambeau had also made a big mistake, ending up in an authentic forest that had everything wild and nothing peaceful, but he managed to get out of the perspective of a branch within arm’s reach to end up in a bunker and then approach in a spectacular way for the title.
McIlroy, however, missed the putt from close range. Again. Bewitched by tension, by thoughts, by everything you might have in mind. It’s hard to imagine what’s in his head now. It is also difficult to imagine how he will be able to face the next few weeks and especially the eve of an Open Championship in which he would have all the means to start among the favourites. It remains to be seen how much he will have recovered from a situation in which he found himself one step away from returning from glory.
In all of this, practically everything else ends up taking a backseat. Including what was seen at home in Italy, with our country fielding Matteo Manassero and the Molinari brothers at the start. The Negrar native, perhaps also betrayed by a touch of emotion, saw the tournament go the wrong way right from the triple bogey on his opening hole. But, in the end, for him what matters now is not so much the Major issue but rather regaining consistency in results on the DP World Tour, which he is largely doing. On Edoardo Molinari hopes faded from the final part of the first round, but a US Open as a contender couldn’t have been imagined for him. If anything, as an excellent observer, since his role as vice-captain of the Ryder Cup is now well known, also with a view to 2025. And as for Francesco Molinari, will remain in the collective imagination of many the hole-in-one at number 9 to make the cut, something no one has ever achieved at the US Open and even more difficult at Pinehurst No. 2. The Turin player, moreover, was also the author of a very valid fourth round (it’s true, a +1, but the sub-pars can be counted on the fingers of a pair of hands given the difficulty of the course). The flashes, it must be said, are still there.
