Smylie Kaufman shares the exact moment he thought Rory McIlory had finally won the BMW PGA Championship

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Rory McIlroy once again came up just short this weekend as he lost out in a playoff to Billy Horschel at the BMW PGA Championship.

In a ding-dong battle at Wentworth, McIlroy and Horschel battled it out over a second playoff hole after Thriston Lawrence had lost out in the opening playoff hole.

However, it was a superb long putt for Eagle that got the job done for Horschel, ruling McIlroy’s birdie irrelevant as they battled it out.

• READ MORE: Wayne Riley discusses Billy Horschel’s chances of winning The Masters after his BMW PGA Championship victory

At the time, McIlroy admitted he’d got a bit lucky in getting to the playoff in the first place after an errant second shot on 18 narrowly avoided the water.

But according to Smylie Kaufman, that was actually the moment he felt McIlroy was destined to win.

Smylie Kaufman shares why he thought Rory McIlroy was winning the BMW PGA

Speaking about McIlroy on the latest episode of The Smylie Show, Kaufman spoke about McIlroy and admitted that it finally looked like he was getting the bit of luck he’s needed in 2024.

“We were texting and were like ‘finally, Rory’s getting his break’. At a time when everyone else is getting good breaks, he got the break. The ball didn’t go in the water, he’s got an opportunity to get up and down and win the tournament but then I saw the lie and I was like ‘he can’t’,” Kaufman said.

“The grass was raised so he wasn’t going to get enough spin and if anything, it can come out slow and the last thing you want to do there is chip it in the water so he gave himself an opportunity to win, and misses.”

McIlroy getting closer and a major could be his in 2025

It is so hard to predict anything in golf really but there is no doubting Rory McIlroy has had a strong year despite a few near misses.

Indeed, Nick Dougherty has defended McIlroy’s ‘mental game’ this weekend and in fairness, he is right.

• READ MORE: Smylie Kaufman names the Team USA player he really wants Keegan Bradley to be paired up with at the Presidents Cup

Most players on tour would give their right arm to have a season like McIlroy in 2024. He’s won events, narrowly missed out in majors and big tournaments, and nearly nabbed an Olympic medal in Paris.

If he can bottle all that up, go into 2025 feeling good, and produce when it matters – with a slice of luck thrown in – then the wait for that 5th major will be over.