‘I’ve been willing to have my heart broken’

One of the most striking golfing images of the year may have come off the course, but it still captured the raw emotion of the major championship arena as well as any missed putt or wayward drive.

On the Sunday evening of the US Open, as Bryson DeChambeau secured his second win in his national championship, the television cameras cut to the man he had pipped to the post: Rory McIlroy, slumped over a table in the scoring tent, the fresh agony of another near-miss setting in on his face.

For the Northern Irishman, the feeling was achingly familiar. McIlroy has been searching for a fifth major for the past decade, but in the past 24 months his quest has become increasingly torturous.

Having failed to convert a final-round lead at the 2022 Open Championship at St Andrews, McIlroy finished a shot behind Wyndham Clark at the 2023 US Open before this year’s sequel at Pinehurst.

Now preparing for this week’s Open at Royal Troon, McIlroy was in philosophical form as he discussed his recent major heartaches, reminding reporters that Jack Nicklaus had 19 runner-up finishes to go with his record haul of 18 wins.

“I’ve never liked to say I deserve things in golf but I think the more time you put yourself in those positions, sooner or later the odds are going to fall in your favour,” said the world number two.

“It’s about putting yourself in there, in the arena. The one thing I’ve done a really good job of in the majors is I’ve been willing to have my heart be broken because I’ve put myself out there.”

McIlroy, who won his Open title at Hoylake in 2014, added: “I’ve let myself be vulnerable and I’ve let myself get to that point basically of no return. I’ve experienced three of those Sundays in the past two or three years.

“But that’s what you need to do, you need to put yourself out there and be willing to get hurt because it’s that fine margin of walking through that threshold of ‘if this doesn’t happen it’s really going to suck but if it does happen it’ll be awesome’.”

While McIlroy last week said Pinehurst was not his toughest defeat, never has he come so close to winning a fifth major.

Leading by two with five holes left, the 35-year-old bogeyed three of his last four holes, missing putts of fewer than four feet on the 16th and 18th to let DeChambeau win by a shot.

“I’ve done a better job of putting myself in the mix and putting it all out there,” he reflected.

“I did that at Pinehurst and it didn’t work out. I’d love to get that opportunity again this week and I know I’ll be able to handle it better.”

Now at Royal Troon, where he finished in a tie for fifth when the South Ayrshire links last staged the Open in 2016, McIlroy is confident he will better handle the emotions and pressure if he finds himself in contention on Sunday.

“I’ll only know the impact [of Pinehurst] if I get myself in a similar position on Sunday,” he told BBC Sport Northern Ireland.

“I played 68 really good holes of golf at Pinehurst and just let it slip away at the end.

“Hopefully I get myself in that position again, and if I do, I know I’ll handle it a little bit better.”

McIlroy marked his competitive return by finishing joint fourth in his defence of the Scottish Open last week.

He enjoyed a relaxing Tuesday morning on the links as he accompanied fellow Northern Irishmen Darren Clarke – the 2011 champion – and Open debutant Tom McKibbin for a practice round.

And while McIlroy has his eyes fixed on the Claret Jug, 21-year-old McKibbin is tempering his expectations in just his second major appearance.

“[I’ll] go out, play my game and at the end of it assess where I’m at against these great guys,” said McKibbin, who finished a respectable joint 41st on his US Open debut last month.

“I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself by saying I want to do this and that but just go out, commit to all my shots and have a good week.” – bbc.com