While winning the Irish Open would have probably not healed all of the scars from the US Open, Rory McIlroy would have been desperate to get back to winning ways, particularly on home soil.
Rory McIlroy led the way at the Irish Open heading into the final round at Royal County Down, and he went on to make a birdie on the first and second holes on Sunday. In fact, the 35-year-old had a two-shot lead with four holes remaining.
However, Rasmus Hojgaard made birdie on four of his final five holes, while McIlroy three-putted on the 17th. And when his eagle putt on the last went agonisingly past the hole, it was confirmed that the Dane had clinched victory.
Of course, McIlroy probably knew exactly what was coming from his critics. A nightmare on the 16th green set the stage for the four-time major champion missing out on winning the US Open in June, with Bryson DeChambeau instead clinching victory at Pinehurst.
What Rory McIlroy still does incredibly well
McIlroy’s performance at the Irish Open was arguably his best and most assured since then, so it may have been a setback to miss out. However, there are perhaps still plenty of positives for McIlroy to take from the event.
Speaking on The First Cut Podcast, Kyle Porter suggested that McIlroy deserves credit for how often he gets himself into the mix – even if he does not always manage to get across the line.
“I think it’s easy to say Rory blew another one or whatever, I think Rory’s career is such that the way that he wins two or three times a year, is that he puts himself in this exact position seven times a year. If you look at the numbers, he’s not an elite closer, at least statistically. Bryson’s an elite closer, there are other guys that are better closers than him,” he said.
“His greatest skill is his consistency and putting himself in that exact position where he’s either leading or within one or whatever with two or three holes to go in so many tournaments throughout the year – more than anybody else over the last 10 or 15 years.
“So to me, is it disappointing that he didn’t win? Of course, you want to win an Irish Open especially in Northern Ireland, but is it encouraging that he’s seemingly back into that spot where he’s putting himself into position to win after what I felt like was a two or three month stretch between the US Open and this tournament where he didn’t really do that very much? I think that part, if you’re him, if you’re a fan of his is encouraging going into, he’s still got three or four tournaments left on the European Tour this fall.”
What has almost been completely forgotten about McIlroy’s year
It has arguably been completely overlooked that McIlroy would have actually sealed his fourth victory of the year had he got across the line last week.
One of those victories came alongside Shane Lowry in New Orleans, but he has managed to triumph in Dubai and at Quail Hollow. It also appears that he is going to win the Race To Dubai at a canter.
Obviously, it has been a difficult year on the whole, with the lowest moment on the course coming on arguably the biggest stage. But McIlroy has still managed to win a number of events – and it would not be a surprise if he was able to win one or two more before the year wraps up.
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