RORY'S AGONY AFTER LATEST MAJOR BLOW

McILROY MISSES OUT BY ONE SHOT AT US OPEN BUT IS DETERMINED TO KEEP HIS EYES ON BIGGEST PRIZES

- Matt Majendie

RORY McILROY could be forgiven for wondering if a fifth Major title will forever elude him, after yesterday missing out by one stroke to Wyndham Clark at the US Open.

This was McIlroy’s 19th top-10 finish at a Major since the last of his four wins and his sixth from the last seven.

Off the green, he was the standout player of the week, hitting 59 greens in regulation to the next best of 53. But, on a final day which began with a one-shot deficit to Clark, the Northern Irishman took a total of 36 putts in 18 holes.

His four-round total of 271 would have been enough to win most other editions in the tournament’s 128-year history, but not in 2023.

As he put it succinctly in the aftermath of another missed opportunity: “I didn’t do much wrong. I just didn’t do much right.”

There were echoes of last year’s Open at St Andrews, where he also finished runner-up. That time, he was undone by Cameron Smith’s stunning, late-charging final-round 64.

This time, at the Los Angeles Country Club, he was kept at bay by Clark’s stubborn refusal to buckle under immense pressure.