Rory McIlroy came within inches of becoming a five-time major champion on Sunday night as he lost out on the U.S. Open championship in devastating style .
The Northern Irishman put in a sensational four days of golf to put himself just three shots behind the leader, Bryson DeChambeau, going into championship Sunday. He started the final round as he meant to go on, too, shooting a birdie on the first before chipping away at the American's lead gradually. When he took the lead by two shots on the 13th hole, it seemed like he was going to break his decade-long drought and finally seal his fifth major win.
But that was where the nightmare started for the 2011 champion. McIlroy missed a par putt from three feet on the 16th hole to let DeChambeau back into it, but more agony was to come on the final hole. Starting the 18th level on six-under-par with DeChambeau, McIlroy sent his tee shot wide into the wire grass, buried in a nest of sand and nettles.
He somehow recovered and got himself to within two feet of the hole, but his putt kissed the rim of the cup before rolling out behind, leaving him with a tap-in for bogey. LIV Golf ace DeChambeau rolled in his putt for par, and claimed the title in devastating fashion . McIlroy quickly left the scene, as Sky Sports pundits Dame Laura Davies and Wayne Riley questioned what on earth had happened to give him the putting yips.
Davies said: "This is a tap-in, it’s inexplicable. It just shows you how hard it is to win a golf tournament, le.
