Walking away from the most devastating loss of Rory McIlroy’s career in a major championship without addressing what went wrong and/or his feelings (which were rather obvious) threatened to allow the goings-on in the fateful U.S. Open final round to fester.
Rory McIlroy compounded the mistakes he made on the 16th and 18th greens at Pinehurst No. 2 on Sunday afternoon with another mistake after he tossed his golf clubs into the trunk of his Lexus SUV courtesy car and hastily bolted from the premises.
Walking away from the most devastating loss of his career in a major championship without addressing what went wrong and/or his feelings (which were rather obvious) threatened to allow the goings-on in the fateful U.S. Open final round to fester.
McIlroy leaving the golf course after declining interview requests following his stunning one-shot loss to Bryson DeChambeau, a decision that was completely understandable given the gut-wrenching circumstances, threatened to prolong the story.
Fortunately, and with the advantage of day-after retrospect, McIlroy ended his Sunday silence on Monday by releasing a statement on X, which in part, said he was stepping away from tournament play until the Scottish Open and British Open next month.
“Yesterday was a tough day, probably the toughest I’ve had in my nearly 17 years as a professional golfer,’’ McIlroy said in his statement. “Firstly, I’d like to congratulate Bryson. He is a worthy champion and exactly what professional golf needs right now.’’
McIlroy was committed to play this week’s Traveler’s Championship in Cromwell, Conn., and it was somewhat predictable after Sunday he’s now decided to skip it. McIlroy surely wanted no part of being besieged with questions about the U.
