LOS ANGELES – The long wait continues for Rory McIlroy.
It was as if the stars were aligning for the kid from Holywood, Northern Ireland, to break his nine-year major drought this week at Los Angeles Country Club in the shadows of the Hollywood hills.
After taking advantage of benign conditions Thursday with a 5-under 65, McIlroy remained in the periphery of the leaders with rounds of 67 and 69 by staying true to his game plan of playing smart and with patience. Entering Sunday’s final round, he was one shot off the leader (and eventual champion) Wyndham Clark. A birdie at the first had the crowd stirring in anticipation. Little did they know it would be his last.
McIlroy missed chance after chance, putt after putt, and a couple poor decisions by his own admission kept him from every truly putting the pressure on Clark. The result? A ho-hum, even-par 70 and another major left on the table.
Sound familiar? McIlroy compared this week to last year’s Open at St. Andrews, where he held a share of the 54-hole lead but managed just two birdies to finish third, one stroke behind Cameron Young and two behind winner Cameron Smith.
Rory McIlroy reacts to his putt on the 17th green during the final round of the 123rd U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club. (Photo: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
“There was a couple of things that I probably would have done differently, but all in all, I played a solid round of golf,” a visibly disappointed McIlroy said after the round. “That one wedge shot on 14, missed birdie putt on 8, really apart from that, I did everything else the way I wanted to.”
“Yeah, fine, fine margins at this level and at this tournament especially, but I fought to the very end. I obviously never give up. And I’m getting closer,” he continued. “The more I keep putting myself in these positions, sooner or later it’s going to happen for me. Just got to regroup and get focused for (Royal Liverpool) in a few weeks’ time.”
Rewatching old videos of his 2014 Open Championship win at Royal Liverpool – the English venue that will host this year’s Open in a matter of 32 days – made him realize how he needed to keep the driver in the bag this week and trust his other skills around the famed LACC’s North Course.
“I thought I did really well at executing my game plan, hitting a lot of fairways, hitting a lot of greens, again, what you should do at a U.S. Open,” he explained. “If anything, I felt like over the last two days…
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