McIlroy Reflects on US Open Performance at Shinnecock Hills
World number two Rory McIlroy concluded the US Open with a final round score of 73 on Sunday in New York, finishing six-over par overall. The Masters champion acknowledged that the course at Shinnecock Hills "won the battle over me" as his pursuit of a second US Open title faltered.
During his final round, McIlroy recorded three birdies and four bogeys. The 37-year-old golfer noted that a difficult finish to his Saturday round, where he ended at level par and seven strokes behind leader Wyndham Clark, left him with a significant deficit to overcome on Sunday.
"I think it [Shinnecock Hills] won the battle over me at this point. Looking back on the entire week, I will rue the back nine yesterday [Saturday]," McIlroy told NI's Gavin Andrews.
"I got myself to two under par after nine yesterday and the wheels came off and I played a really bad back nine and shot myself out of the tournament, so was really disappointed coming away from the course last night.
"You try to come out here today positive and muster up the energy to put a good one in there and then [after] a couple of bogeys on the front nine I was trying to race my way to the 18th green."
Looking Ahead to Upcoming Tournaments
Following the US Open, McIlroy plans to focus on events closer to home. He expressed enthusiasm about returning to links golf, particularly at the Scottish Open and The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale in July.
"It's my favourite time of the year to go back home and play the Open and get to spend a bit of time back there," he added.
"This was not too dissimilar to an Open Championship in how the golf course played over the weekend, but some links golf over the next couple of weeks will be nice."
