Rory McIlroy took to social media Monday afternoon to say his stunning collapse at the U.S. Open was probably the toughest day of his career, and that he would take off the next three weeks to “build myself back up.”
That means he will skip the Travelers Championship, the final $20 million signature event on the PGA Tour schedule with a limited field and no cut.
“The one word that I would describe my career as is resilient,” McIlroy said in his post. “I’ve shown my resilience over and over again in the last 17 years and I will again.”
McIlroy twice had a one-shot lead at Pinehurst No. 2 until he closed with three bogeys in his last four holes, missing a 30-inch par putt on the 16th hole and a par putt from just inside 4 feet on the 18th hole.
Bryson DeChambeau won it with a sensational par on the 18th, hitting a 55-yard bunker shot to 4 feet for par to beat McIlroy by one shot. McIlroy became the first player since Jim Furyk in 2006-07 to lose the U.S. Open by one shot in consecutive years.
He was so distraught after watching DeChambeau’s par from the scoring room that he cleaned out his locker, headed straight to his car and spun his tires on the gravel in a rush to leave.
He did not stay behind to congratulate DeChambeau, typical for players who finish in the group ahead. DeChambeau came over to congratulate Xander Schauffele a month ago when Schauffele beat him with a birdie on the final hole in the PGA Championship.
“Firstly, I’d like to congratulate Bryson. He is a worthy champion and exactly what professional golf needs right now” McIlroy said in his post. “I think we can all agree on that.”
McIlroy said while he will look back with regret on the two short misses, he said the positives of the week will outweigh the negative.
“As I said at the start of the tournament, I feel closer to winning my next major championship than I ever have,” he said.
McIlroy now has gone 10 years and 29 majors since he won the 2014 British Open at Hoylake for his fourth major at age 25. He has won three times this year, once on the European tour.
The 35-year-old from Northern Ireland has had a rough time outside the ropes, too. He filed for divorce from his wife, Erica, before the PGA Championship, and then filed a motion to voluntarily dismiss the divorce case right before the U.S. Open.
McIlroy is the defending champion at the Scottish Open on July 10-13, which leads to the British Open the following week at Royal Troon in Scotland, and then a week off before the Olympics outside Paris.
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