Rory McIlroy Makes First Comments Since U.S. Open, Withdraws from PGA Tour Event

Madison Williams | Jun 17, 2024

Jun 16, 2024; Pinehurst, North Carolina, USA; Rory McIlroy hits from the sixth tee box during the final round of the U.S. Open golf tournament. / Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

The story of Rory McIlroy being just two putts short of winning the U.S. Open on Sunday has taken over the golf news cycle on Monday.

The four-time major champion hasn't won a major championship since 2014, and this past weekend's U.S. Open at Pinehurst Course No. 2 was arguably the closest he's gotten since then. He missed two short putts on Holes 16 and 18, both resulting in bogeys, and ended up losing by one stroke to Bryson DeChambeau. McIlroy's reaction to his loss quickly became a meme as he looked extremely disappointed.

McIlroy made his first comments since the loss on Monday afternoon by posting a long message on social media about how he feels regarding what happened on Sunday.

"Yesterday was a tough day, probably the toughest I've had in my nearly 17 years as a professional golfer," McIlroy wrote. "As I reflect on my week, I'll rue a few things over the course of the tournament, mostly the 2 missed putts on 16 and 18 on the final day. But, as I always try to do, I'll look at the positives of the week that far outweigh the negatives. As I said at the start of the tournament, I feel closer to winning my next major championship than I ever feel."

Here are his full comments:

pic.twitter.com/fD9NvqFXav

— Rory McIlroy (@McIlroyRory) June 17, 2024

McIlroy will also take a few weeks off from the PGA Tour (he has withdrawn from this week's Travelers Championship in Hartford) and prepare for the Genesis Scottish Open, which begins on July 11, and the final major championship of the season, the Open Championship, on July 18 at Royal Troon.