PINEHURST, N.C. — Rory McIlroy had waited 10 years for this.
It was right there for him, a first major championship victory since 2014.
With the blazing North Carolina sun setting over Pinehurst No. 2, McIlroy had one hand on the U.S. Open trophy. The end of his highly publicized drought without a major championship appeared near.
It was soclose.
And then it all slipped away. It was agonizing. It was cruel. And it happened quickly.
When the 124th U.S. Open was over, it wasn’t McIlroy celebrating as the winner on the 18th green of Pinehurst No. 2, on the 72nd and final hole of the tournament. It was Bryson DeChambeau, who did everything McIlroy was unable to do in the cauldron of the final holes on the back nine, who hoisted the chalice.
It was DeChambeau who delivered the clutch shots while McIlroy’s putter — and most importantly his nerves — froze in the heat of the intense pressure.
It was DeChambeau who broke into a spontaneous, raw and wild greenside celebration.
And, with the echoes of the huge gallery on the 18th hole still reverberating, the most heartbreaking scene of the week was unfolding behind the clubhouse.
That’s where a shell-shocked McIlroy, in tears, made a beeline to his Lexus courtesy car without speaking to anyone and hastily speeding out of the parking lot.
McIlroy has built up a lot of scar tissue in the 10 years since his last major championship. He’s played so well. Been so close on occasion without reward.
But he might need surgery to remove this scar tissue. This one will be as difficult to reconcile and recover as any in his career.
You really wonder where McIlroy goes from here as he relives bogeying three of the final four holes after he’d seized a two-shot lead over DeChambeau at 8-under par following a birdie on No. 14.
McIlroy bogeyed the par-3 15th hole, which he’d bogeyed in Saturday’s third round, to drop to 7-under.
Then came a shocking miss of a 2-foot par putt on the 16th hole that he appeared to completely pull.
And finally, there was the worst, most damaging stroke of his career — a missed 4-foot par putt on the 72nd hole that never even grazed the edge of the cup.
Had McIlroy made that putt, he would have forced DeChambeau, who was in trouble off the tee on 18 right behind him, to par the final hole to tie and force a playoff.
Instead, the McIlroy miss opened the door for DeChambeau to pull off one of the great par saves in major championship history for the win.
The end on Sunday is going to be difficult to stomach for McIlroy until he’s able to pick off his fifth career major championship.
“Rory is one of the best to ever play,’’ DeChambeau said. “I’m sure it will fuel Rory’s fire even more. He’s a strong-minded individual. He’ll win multiple more major championships.’’
Matthieu Pavon, DeChambeau’s final-round playing partner, sympathized with McIlroy’s devastation.
“At the end of the day, we are all human,’’ Pavon said. “Rory has been chasing another major for 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.’’
Since his last win at a major, at the 2014 PGA Championship, McIlroy has played in 37 major championships and 21 times has finished in the top 10, including 11 times in the top 5. Sunday was his fourth runner-up finish in that span.
“I think I’m embracing the questions that the golf course asks of you,’’ McIlroy said on Saturday after his third round. “It’s a style of golf that I’ve started to try and embrace over these last few years.’’
McIlroy finished tied for ninth at the 2019 U.S. Open, tied for eighth in 2020, tied for seventh in 2021, tied for fifth in 2022. He was second to winner Wyndham Clark last year at LA Country Club and, of course, second to DeChambeau on Sunday.
He went to bed on Saturday night and woke up on Sunday morning bullish on his chances to overtake DeChambeau, win and put an end to the drought narrative.
“I’m pretty much in the same position that I was last year going into the final day at LACC,’’ McIlroy had said after his third round on Saturday. “So … familiar position … been here many times before. And hopefully tomorrow I produce the golf that’s needed to go one better.’’
That hope turned to dread on those fateful final four holes.
And now, wherever McIlroy goes from here will require stronger mental fortitude than he’s ever had to reach back for in his professional life.
