Rory McIlroy has been the talk of the town after his near-miss at the US Open and Xander Schauffele has been speaking about the pressure McIlroy faces.
McIlroy missed two putts from inside three feet to hand Bryson DeChambeau the US Open title at Pinehurst this past weekend.
For McIlroy, it was the most heart-breaking of defeats as he looked on course to break his 10-year duck in the majors.
In the end, the Pinehurst wire grass and the tough greens were his nemesis and Rory made a swift exit from the venue as DeChambeau celebrated.
Of course, DeChambeau has been lauded since his win. McIlroy, meanwhile, has come in for a bit of a criticism and has confirmed he’s taking a break from golf.
However, speaking ahead of The Travelers this weekend, PGA Championship winner Xander Schauffele has explained why the pressure on McIlroy is different to him and anyone else.
Xander Schauffele explains why he has sympathy for Rory McIlroy
Speaking to the press and asked about how McIlroy might be dealing with the situation from Sunday, Schauffele admitted that he has sympathy for the Northern Irishman.
“It’s different for everyone. It’s hard for me to compare you know, my losses to his losses,” Schauffele said.
“I’d say he’s under a bit more of a microscope when things are going well, people are all over him. And unfortunately, when things don’t go your way, people are all over him.
“So, you know, there’s a microscope on why he didn’t win and he’ll need to answer those questions at some point and I’m sure he will, because he always does.
“For me, I wear them pretty hard but sometimes it’s nice to just get back on the horse and compete. Like I said though, everyone handles it differently and at those times you lean on your team.”
Schauffele knows what it’s like to lose big
As we know, Schauffele is another player who has had near-miss after near-miss before finally winning at Valhalla last month.
These words, then, will resonate with Rory and the rest of the golfing world as to just what sort of pressure the Northern Irishman is under.
McIlroy will win big again. He’s too good not to.
But for now, the decision to take a rest is probably the best thing he could have done.
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