Rory McIlroy’s U.S. Open runner-up reaction lights a fire for the future

Rory McIlroy fell short once again in a major championship. He finished solo second at the 123rd U.S. Open, one shot back of champion Wyndham Clark.

McIlroy struggled to make putts fall on Sunday, making 16 pars on the day. Of those 16 pars, eight of them were 22 inches or shorter. This round mimicked last year’s Open Championship round, where he couldn’t buy a birdie putt.

“I don’t think I was hitting bad putts; just hitting them just with slightly the wrong speed. Some were coming up short, some were going a little long,” he said afterward.

He went 65-67-69-70 on the week, led the field in strokes gained off the tee and greens in regulation. McIlroy hit 59-of-72 greens in regulation which is the most by a player who didn’t win the U.S. Open, per PGA Tour writer Justin Ray.

After the crushing loss, the Northern Irishman kept a positive attitude.

“I would go through 100 Sundays like this to get my hands on another major championship,” McIlroy said.

McIlroy didn’t have a meltdown as he did on Sunday at his few tournaments. There were a few wild tee and wedge shots, but for the most part, he stayed the course.

The four-time major winner struggled to get the ball close to the hole in the final round. So, it wasn’t just the putter not cooperating. 14 of his 18 birdie looks were at least 18 feet long.

This performance seems to have lit a fire in McIlroy because the four-time major winner sounded extremely motivated.

McIlroy’s U.S. Open performance is the strongest he has looked in a major tournament since last year’s Open Championship.

“When I do finally win this next major, it’s going to be really, really sweet,” McIlroy said.