Rory McIlroy lost the 2024 U.S. Open, and this time, there is no escaping that harsh reality

McIlroy held a two-shot lead with five holes to play but missed two puts inside 4 feet to continue his decade-long drought

By Kyle Porter Jun 16, 2024 at 10:12 pm ET• 7 min read

PINEHURST, N.C. -- The greatest showman in golf, Bryson DeChambeau, ruled Pinehurst No. 2 and the 2024 U.S. Open for three straight days. And then four-time major champion Rory McIlroy began to deconstruct the big top. 

McIlroy turned a three-shot deficit into one by the turn, and with birdies at No. 1 and No. 9, he pushed the tournament into that existential place on the back side of a major where the golf seems almost secondary to what's being stirred up in the hands and heads and hearts of the contenders.

It's difficult just to get oneself to that place at a major, and McIlroy has done it so few times since he last won such an event in August 2014. So rarely has Rory realistically been in the hunt for history with nine holes still on the table.

If there is a criticism of his performance as a professional over the last decade, it is that: McIlroy is too good to have given himself so few rips at holding a silver trophy with two hours to go on a Sunday.