A shocked Rory McIlroy left Pinehurst immediately after a humiliating collapse over the final holes of the US Open saw another major title painfully slip from his grasp.
With the tournament at his mercy and a two-shot lead with five holes to play, McIlroy collapsed at the finish with bogeys on three of his last four holes, including a heartbreaker at the 18th.
The Northern Irishman astonishingly missed par by 21 feet on the 16th and by less than four feet on the 18th, bringing another heartbreaking end to his decade-long chase for a fifth Major.
McIlroy didn’t stick around to talk to the media and was photographed by golf reporter Jason Sobel packing his clubs into a car after Bryson DeChambeau secured the win.
NBC, the tournament broadcaster in the US, also said McIlroy declined to be interviewed.
Rory McIlroy was a picture of devastation after throwing away the US Open on Sunday
Video also emerged of a devastated McIlroy watching DeChambeau wrap up the glory in the clubhouse. It was an ending that could be considered more painful than the implosion of the Masters in 2011.
But the analysts will have to decide that in the coming days. As DeChambeau got his hands on the trophy, McIlroy’s tires spun in the gravel of the parking lot as he fled to lick his wounds.
It marks a disastrous end to another extraordinary week for McIlroy, who announced on Tuesday evening that he had called off his divorce from wife Erica.
In a May 13 court filing – days before the PGA Championship in Valhalla – his lawyer had said the marriage had broken down irretrievably.
“There have been rumors about my personal life lately, which is unfortunate,” McIlroy said in the statement. ‘Responding to every rumor is a fool’s game. Over the past few weeks, Erica and I have realized that our best future as a family was together. Fortunately, we have resolved our differences and are looking forward to a new beginning.”
But for so much of Sunday’s final round, it looked like McIlroy would write a fairytale ending to such a tumultuous chapter of his life.
Starting the day three shots behind DeChambeau, McIlroy made the ideal start with a birdie from 20 feet on the first and found himself just a shot behind when DeChambeau made the fourth bogey.
McIlroy had a two-shot lead by the time he walked to the 14th tee. The “Rory” chants grew louder and DeChambeau could hear them.
McIlroy imagined himself leaving the 18th green in shock after missing a second easy putt
McIlroy’s week started with him calling off his divorce from wife of seven years, Erica Stoll
But the way he imploded on Sunday will still leave McIlroy feeling heartbroken
McIlroy took bogey from behind the 15th green, but he remained one ahead when DeChambeau, playing in the group behind him, had his first three-putt of the week on the 15th when he missed from four feet.
And that’s where the US Open took a painful turn for McIlroy. He missed a 30-inch par putt on the 16th hole and fell to a tie. On the 18th, McIlroy’s tee shot landed behind a notorious wiregrass bush. He hit just off the green and threw beautifully to four feet. And he missed again.
McIlroy watched from the scoring room as DeChambeau escaped a terrible lie to the left of the fairway – a tree in his backswing, a root in front of the golf ball – and hit it into the bunker.
He skillfully blasted a shot from the soft sand that rolled over the crisp green to set up the winning putt.
And from that moment on, Rory could do nothing but pack his bags.