Rory McIlroy was left to rue a back nine of 40 on Saturday at the US Open and he admitted that Shinnecock Hills won the battle as his challenge for a first title since 2011 fizzled out at a whimper.
McIlroy began the day with a slim to no chance of winning this week’s championship and he slumped to a second successive 73 for a six-over total and a share of 32nd place. Needing a quick start to fuel dreams of a miracle, McIlroy bogeyed the 2nd, 3rd and 5th before a bogey on the 9th saw him turn in 39 to add insult to injury following a back nine of 40 the day before.
The six-time major winner did rally briefly with back to back birdies on 10 and 11 before ending a frustrating week with a bogey on 14, birdie on 15 and bogey on 17.
“It won the battle over me at this point,” McIlroy said of the test Shinnecock Hills provided.
In truth, McIlroy’s chances of winning were dead and buried after Saturday’s back nine. Having played the front nine in a cumulative five-under for the week at that point he was two-under total before things completely unraveled.
“I’d say it was going well until the back nine yesterday,” McIlroy said. “A couple under par for the tournament and I just let it get away from there on the back nine. Similar to Friday, too. Obviously I was 3-over for the back nine on Friday also, so I’ll rue those nines but especially yesterday because I got myself right back in the tournament the way I played the front nine and then I just let it go.
“Obviously today going in, I felt I had a tiny chance, but got off to a bad start, so a week of what could have been and pretty frustrating with how everything ended yesterday. But I’ll press myself off and go again.”
Much was made of McIlroy’s driving capabilities heading into the championship but with generously wide fairways for PGA Tour standards never mind US Open expectations, Shinnecock Hills was always going to be a second shot golf course, which suggests his swing issues are deeper than the big stick.
He ended the week 67th in strokes gained approach and that was ultimately his down fall as his iron play deserted him but he hopes the links style test that Shinnecock provided will serve him well ahead of the Open at Royal Birkdale next month.
“Just sort of silly errors,” McIlroy said. “At the same time, I feel like I shouldn’t have let it get away. I drove the ball better this week, which was positive. I just didn’t judge the first bounce very well on the greens. The feel shots in the wind, especially where it was downwind, I didn’t do that. So now going to a couple of links tournaments, Scotland and then Birkdale, just getting used to that style of golf a little bit more.”
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