Jon Rahm has risen to after the Northern Irishman missed two brutal short putts to lose out last Sunday. looked set to win his first major championship in 10 years at Pinehurst No. 2, after taking a two-shot lead over with five holes to play.
Three bogeys down the stretch however ensured he missed out, with short putts at the 16th and 18th costing him dearly. The first of the two short misses came on the 16th green after McIlroy failed to convert from inside three feet for the very first time this season, having made the last 496 attempts from that distance. His struggles were far from over, and after giving himself the chance to at least force a playoff with DeChambeau with a neat chip, McIlroy's putter again went cold after seeing another short putt miss the cup.
It would have been a bitter pill to swallow for McIlroy, who had been impressive on the greens throughout the week. His final miss has drawn criticism from many, but star believes the right-to-left break and speed of the putting surface made it much tougher than first thought. "One of the things that absolutely burned me," Rahm said ahead of his return at LIV Nashville this week.
"I think it was Smylie [Kaufman] who said it, he severely underplayed how difficult Rory's putt on 18 was. When he said it's a left-center putt, if you hit that putt left-center and miss the hole, you're off the green because of how much slope there is. You could see Rory aiming for at least a cup left from three feet.
"They severely under.