Rory McIlroy breaks silence on US Open heartbreak as he reflects on ‘toughest day’

Rory McIlroy has broken his silence on his US Open heartbreak after narrowly missing out on a first major victory in ten years on Sunday.

Thirteen years after winning his first US Open and first Congressional major – and 3,599 days after winning the 2014 US PGA – the Hollywood man looked ready to finally return to the winner’s circle when he led by two shots with five holes to play.

However, the Northern Irishman incredibly missed by two feet and six inches on par on the 16th and by less than four feet on the 18th to suffer another heartbreaking defeat.

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Six-time major winner Sir Nick Faldo, commentating for Sky Sports, said: “This is going to haunt Rory for the rest of his life, these two failures.”

And McIlroy admits Sunday was “probably the toughest day” he’s had on a golf course and revealed he’ll “take a few weeks off to deal with everything.”

He said in a statement published on X: “Yesterday was a difficult day, probably the most difficult I have had in almost 17 years as a professional golfer.”

“First of all, I’d like to congratulate Bryson. He is a worthy champion and exactly what professional golf needs right now. I think we can all agree on that.”

“Reflecting on my week, I will regret some things during the tournament, mainly the 2 missed putts on 16 and 18 on the last day. But, as I always try to do, I will look at the positives of the week Far outweigh the negatives. As I said at the start of the tournament, I feel closer than ever to winning my next major championship. The only word I would describe as resilient. times over the last 17 years and I will do it again.”

“I’m going to take a few weeks off to process everything and prepare for my defense of the Genesis Scottish Open and the Open at Royal Troon.”

“See you in Scotland.”

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