Rory McIlroy may NEVER recover from this US Open – he was 7ft from glory but instead, a week that began with him calling off his divorce still ends in heartbreak

Shortly before 4pm on Sunday, the clouds briefly parted and the heat increased around Pinehurst. Many of the world’s best players had already fallen at the feet of this unforgiving cradle of American golf. But Rory McIlroy was still standing.

After three and a half grueling days. After 10 years of sadness and hard lessons. Since winning the 2014 PGA Championship, a fifth major has hung like a mirage on the horizon. McIlroy has nursed scar tissue and battled doubts. He visited Jesus and decided that only by learning patience could he avoid more waiting. All for afternoons like this. There have been quite a few.

There have been near misses and McIlroy has let glory slip through his fingers before. But never quite like this.

McIlroy felt before this US Open that he was closer than ever to ending his drought. He was right.

With three holes to play on an extraordinary final day of a crazy week, Northern Irishman Bryson DeChambeau led by one stroke. He had a par putt from 2ft 6ins. He missed it. And on 18 McIlroy had another par putt from 3ft 9ins. He missed it.

With the tournament up for grabs, McIlroy missed two putts within three feet

Many will wonder how 35-year-old McIlroy will recover from such bitter devastation

That opened the door for DeChambeau to win his second US Open. He had a par putt from 3ft 11ins. He didn’t miss it.

You have to wonder how McIlroy will recover from this. You have to wonder if that fifth major will ever come.

Both he and DeChambeau had promised boring golf all week. Both treated us to an incredible tug-of-war. Each hole brought more and more chaos. McIlroy started the day three shots behind, but on the 14th tee he was two ahead.

It was the first time he was outright leader all week. It would never be that easy. But after turning the tide with four birdies in five holes, McIlroy – the 2011 champion – turned the gun on his foot. He bogeyed 15, 16 and 18 and watched DeChambeau take the victory with a remarkable up-and-down.

After sending his drive into the stands, the 2020 champion chopped the ball into a bunker. Somehow he got it close – ‘it was the picture of my life’ – and kept his nerves in check. For the second consecutive US Open, McIlroy lost by a shot. That’s now 20 top-10 finishes since he last won a major.

After DeChambeau secured the win, the Northern Irishman could only bow his head and then rush to the car. McIlroy was out of Pinehurst in no time, but he won’t be able to avoid the consequences. A week that started with the news that his divorce had fallen through ended in heartbreak.

The rankings show that he was five under par in the 69th final round, one behind DeChambeau, one ahead of Tony Finau and Patrick Cantlay. What doesn’t it show? That McIlroy was less than 2 meters away from collecting the trophy.

This was the first time he and Cantlay had played together since last year’s Ryder Cup, when simmering tensions in Rome were running high. There was a lukewarm embrace on the first tee yesterday before both embarked on a common mission: bringing in DeChambeau.

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’s collapse allowed Bryson DeChambeau to win his second US Open

At the time, the night’s leader was busy on the track, testing brand new driver heads 15 minutes before his start time.

Four years have passed since DeChambeau won this tournament after gaining 40 pounds and turning his game into a live science experiment.

The 30-year-old became a pantomime villain and then an LIV rebel. Lately, though, DeChambeau has become an unlikely favorite.

There are plenty of people wondering whether this new image is a carefully crafted PR exercise. Pinehurst didn’t care either way. And on Sunday, DeChambeau was immediately put on the back foot. His opening shot off the tee lodged in a divot and then a roar rolled back across the fairway as McIlroy sank an opening birdie putt from 20 feet. We had a lift-off.

DeChambeau’s first drive with that new face missed the fairway and the leader flirted with trouble on several of the early holes. His ability to recover, which was so impressive on Saturday, failed him at the age of four and suddenly the lead was one.

DeChambeau was fortunate that Cantlay also had an early swing. And that McIlroy was the victim of brute luck. A booming second shot into the par fifth appeared to have created a potential eagle opportunity.

Instead, McIlroy’s ball trickled all the way into the birth area and ended with a bogey. It was one of those days: survival. Do it. Each passing hole brought the prospect of a reshuffle at the top.

McIlroy made courageous par saves on seven and eight. Then he made his move. A birdie on the par-three ninth brought him within one of DeChambeau. They were level minutes later when McIlroy went back-to-back and caused chaos in the galleries around the 10th green.

McIlroy was visibly stunned by the putt that refused to fall on the 18th green

The Northern Irishman’s face was a picture of devastation after a brutal, humiliating end

Behind him, DeChambeau came wayward off the tee and rode his luck. However, it wasn’t long before he was out on his own again. At least for a few minutes. McIlroy simply wouldn’t let DeChambeau escape – after the 2020 champion went to seven under at 10, McIlroy responded with another birdie.

And then he turned the tables. The Northern Irishman birdied 13, DeChambeau bogeyed 12 and we had a two-shot swing. Another should have followed almost immediately, as McIlroy ran into trouble and DeChambeau had a makeable birdie putt.

The Northern Irishman made bogey at 15, but somehow so did his rival. What a time for DeChambeau to make his first three-putt of the entire week. What a time for McIlroy to miss from inside a yard.

From that point on, he hit 496-for-496 this season until he reached 16th. He couldn’t miss the greens for much of Sunday. And then suddenly McIlroy couldn’t make anything anymore. The waiting continues. The bleeding just won’t stop.