US Open: Rory McIlroy admits Shinnecock Hills ‘won the battle’ as major title hopes fade after disappointing weekend | golf news

Rory McIlroy was frustrated by the “wheels coming off” during the US Open, where a disappointing weekend display saw his major hopes end at Shinnecock Hill.

McIlroy posted an opening round 69 and was seven off the lead at the halfway point after a one-over 71 on Friday, then raced to within four of Wyndham Clarke after making three consecutive birdies in his third round.

The Masters champion had a spectacular revelation on the back nine on Saturday, carding five bogeys in a three-over 73, and a disappointing final day ended any hopes of an eighth US Open top 20 finish.

McIlroy called himself “just going home” after a poor approach shot early Sunday, when he bogeyed three of his first five holes and recorded his worst US Open finish since the tournament was last held at Shinnecock Hills in 2018.

“I think it (Shinnecock Hills) has won the battle for me at this point,” McIlroy said after his final round 73, which saw him finish on six over. “I think looking back on the whole week, I’ll obviously regret the back-nine yesterday (Saturday).

“Yesterday I got myself two under for the tournament after nine, then the wheels came off and played a really bad back nine – that’s when I put myself out of the tournament.

“I was really disappointed to get off the course last night. You try to be positive here today and you try to build up the energy to do well there, but, after a couple of bogeys on the front nine, I was trying to get to the 18th green.”

McIlroy was second out of 72 players in approach play on the final day and 59th in strokes gained putting, as the six-time major champion struggled with his irons and greens to continue his slide down the leaderboard.

“He looked a bit lethargic today,” Sky Sports’ Andrew Coltart said on commentary. “A few years ago he’d go out there in the majors and he’d struggle in the first round, play himself out of it and then fight hard and get back into the top five or something.”

Former Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley added: “It’s been a week to watch for McIlroy. One step forward and two steps back has been the order of the game for him all week.

“As he made a few birdies, he followed it up with mistakes.”

All eyes on The Open for McIlroy

McIlroy’s finish was his worst result since successfully defending his title at The Masters in April, with the Northern Irishman now set for a fortnight off after electing to skip next week’s Travelers Championship – the final signature event of the season.

He also missed the Cadillac Championship and the RBC Heritage this season, meaning he has made just 10 appearances at PGA Tour-sanctioned events in 2026 and played in just five of eight signature events.

McIlroy returns to action July 9-12 at the Genesis Scottish Open, which he won in 2023 and finished runner-up to Chris Gotterup last year, before taking part in The Open at Royal Birkdale next week.

“I’ll probably play some links golf this week coming up, but it’s my favorite time of year to be back home playing The Open,” McIlroy added. “I get to spend some time back there.

“It wasn’t too dissimilar to an Open Championship in terms of how the golf course played out over the weekend, but it will be nice to have some links with the golf over the next few weeks.”

Watch Rory McIlroy in PGA Tour and DP World Tour action throughout the season live on Sky Sports. McIlroy will be chasing the big win at The Open from July 16-19, live on Sky Sports Golf. Get Sky Sports or Flow without any contract.