Rory McIlroy takes pot shot at ‘unfair’ critics of late collapse at US Open

Rory McIlroy has criticised his own and his caddie’s performances at the US Open after the Northern Irishman saw the trophy painfully slip from his grasp in Pinehurst.

Hank Haney, Tiger Woods’ former coach, and television analyst Smylie Kaufman, a former PGA Tour player, both gave negative reviews of McIlroy’s approach. Harry Diamond, McIlroy’s caddie, was also in the firing line after McIlroy bogeyed three of his last four holes.

For the first time since Bryson DeChambeau beat McIlroy to the third major of the year, the 35-year-old was dismissive of “unfair” comments about Diamond in particular. “Hank Haney has never been in that position,” McIlroy said. “Smylie has been in that position once. I love Smylie and he was there with us at 18 [when McIlroy missed a decisive putt]But just because Harry isn’t as vocal or loud with his words as other caddies, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t say or do anything.

“These guys who criticise when things don’t go my way, never say anything good when things do go my way. So where were they when I won Dubai earlier this year or Quail Hollow or the two FedExCups I won with Harry or the two Ryder Cups or whatever? They’re never there to say how well Harry did when I win, but they’re always there to criticise when we don’t win.

“They’re not there. They’re not the ones firing the shots and making the decisions. Someone once said to me, ‘If you never took advice from these people, you’d never take their criticism.’ I certainly wouldn’t go to Hank Haney for advice. I love Smylie, but I think I know what I’m doing and so does Harry.”

McIlroy spent a few days in Manhattan after the US Open in what appeared to be a head-clearing exercise. He won the last of his four majors in August 2014, but none of his attempts at a fifth have been lost so dramatically.

“Just like I look back at some of my toughest moments in my career, I’ll learn a lot from it and hopefully I’ll put that to good use,” McIlroy added. “It’s something that’s been a bit of a theme throughout my career. I’ve been able to turn those tough moments into great things not long after.

“I still think about the short missed putt I missed in Crans-sur-Sierre in 2008 in a play-off. I was probably even more devastated after that because it was my rookie year on tour; I hadn’t won yet. I remember feeling really bad for a week after that.

“I’ve been brooding for a few days about what happened in Pinehurst, but thankfully I can go home now and look at what I’ve achieved in the game and feel good about something. Look, it was a great opportunity. It passed me by, but hopefully it won’t pass me by the next time I get the chance.”

McIlroy pinpointed where he thinks things fell apart at Pinehurst. For example, he thinks he was paying too much attention to DeChambeau on the final stretch. “Maybe I was a little too aware of where Bryson was and what he was doing,” McIlroy explained. “After the 14th tee, you’re looking at the 13th green and I had to wait to tee off on 15 before he hit his second shot on 14. The way the course was going, it made me very aware of what he was doing. So it took me out of my own little world a little bit.”

The Open takes place next week at Royal Troon. “It’s just another opportunity,” McIlroy said. “I’m playing great golf and it’s another opportunity to see how I can hopefully approach it better than I did a couple of weeks ago.”

First, a defence of the Scottish Open in East Lothian.