‘I Had A Great Opportunity There To Pick Up Another Major’ - McIlroy Still Rues US Open Near-Miss Five Months Later

Rory McIlroy revealed he is still caught up on his US Open near-miss as he reflected on his year ahead of the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai. 

McIlroy has endured a topsy-turvy year, tasting victory in his first event of the year at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic and playing a guiding role in Europe's Ryder Cup win but also suffering the pain of another poor performance at The Masters and an agonising close shave at the US Open where he lost by one shot to Wyndham Clark.

In the aftermath of his second-place finish at Los Angeles Country Club, the Northern Irishman said he would go through "100 Sundays like this to get my hands on another Major championship," and yet five months on, he is still left "ruing" that final round. 

Asked to reflect on his year, he said: "I'd probably give it a 7 out of 10. Played good golf. I had the two wins. I think the big -- I had my best-ever Ryder Cup, which feels like a win to me, especially coming off the back of Whistling Straits," he said as he arrived in the UAE, fresh off being announced as the Race to Dubai champion last week despite not hitting a ball.

"So I've been happy with the year. If I looked back on one thing, I'll rue that miss at L.A. I had a great opportunity there to pick up another major and I didn't. But I'm still not going to let that take away from the fact that it's been another really consistent, solid year with some really good performances."

The week's event will mark his first appearance since his talismanic performance in the Ryder Cup at Marco Simone, where the Northern Irishman was the top points scorer as Europe regained the trophy in Rome.

Here's what else the World No.2 had to say...

Another Race to Dubai crown

Despite not playing last week at the Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa, McIlroy was able to wrap up his fifth Race to Dubai crown after other results went his way. 

A successful defence of his title - despite playing just nine events on the calendar - leaves him only trailing Seve Ballesteros (6) and Colin Montgomerie (8) for the most Order of Merit titles. 

Wins at the Dubai Desert Classic and the Scottish Open, alongside his superb performances in the last three Majors guided him to his unassailable lead ahead of this week, and the magnitude of the achievement is certainly not lost on the Northern Irishman

"It's really nice to have my name on the Harry Vardon Trophy for the fifth time and just be one behind Seve and still a few behind Monty," he reflected.

"But you're talking about the greats of the European game. If someone had told 18-year-old Rory when I was making my professional debut in 2007 that I would have won five Order of Merits up to this point, I wouldn't have believed them.

"I certainly don't take it for granted, and you know, it shows the consistency that I've played with over the last few years that even though I feel like I've had a good year, I don't feel like I've had a great year, but I can still go ahead and achieve things like this."

More co-sanctioned events

McIlroy's most recent triumph came at the Scottish Open - the co-sanctioned event between the DP World Tour and PGA Tour. Despite talk of a strategic alliance between the two tours, that event remains the one of few events on the PGA Tour's calendar to take place outside of America. 

Moving forward, that's something the four-time Major champion would love to see change. 

"I would be all for more co-sanctioned events. Look at what Max Homa and Justin Thomas did last week going down to South Africa. They had a really good time. They played in a different part of the world where they had never played before. If more of that sort of stuff could happen, I think it would be really good for golf.

"I think The Scottish Open worked really well and certainly one could work well here [in Dubai]. Some of the National Opens, try to revitalise some of those that have some great history in our game and a lot of tradition; the Australian Open, for example. 

"There's so many -- to me, I've won quite a few National Opens and they are probably some of my most prized possessions in my trophy case. You look at the names on them, and that's what golf is about."

Tight lipped on PGA Tour-PIF developments

As the 2024 season nears, the elephant in the room remains the ongoing potential of a deal between the PGA Tour and Saudia Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF). Initially announced in June, the shocking deal has seemingly hit a few obstacles, with the self-imposed December 31 deadline unlikely to be hit. 

As a player representative on the PGA Tour policy board, McIlroy would be part of voting through any potential deal, but he wasn't giving away many updates on a potential timeline for when that may occur.

"I think if you were in the middle of it, you would see that there's a path forward," he explained. "It's just that no one on the outside has any details. Loose lips sink ships, so we are trying to keep it tight and within walls. I'm sure when there's news to tell, it will be told.

"I think getting something done sooner rather than later is a good thing. Because you know, even if we get a deal done, it doesn't mean that it's actually going to happen. That's up to the United States government at that point, and whether the Department of Justice think that it's the right thing to do or whether anti-competitive or whatever.

"Even if a deal does get done, it's not a sure thing. So yeah, we are just going to have to wait and see. But in my opinion, the faster something gets done, the better."

PGA Tour-DP World Tour pathway

Although the Race to Dubai winner may have been crowned, there is still plenty to fight for this week at Jumeirah Golf Estates, with the top ten DP World Players not currently holding a PGA Tour card set to earn their playing privileges in America for 2024.

The move has caused controversy, with many arguing that it is needlessly depleting the former European Tour of its brightest stars who will likely take up the option to compete stateside in the new year due to the increased prize money on offer. 

McIlroy, however, does not agree with such a sentiment and argues that this is merely a formalising of a long-existing pathway.

"I got into the top 50 in the world at the end of 2008, and in 2009, I was going to start in the Middle East and then I was going to the States and play the Match Play, the Honda, the whatever else. It's always been there. It's just a bit more official," he argued.

"The reason that The European Tour started with as to give professional golfers opportunities to play golf tournaments and earn a living. So if you look at what the mission statement is for the DP World Tour, it's to give professional golfers opportunities to play their sport, make a living, and there's no better place to have opportunity and to make a living than what's going on on the PGA Tour.

"So I don't see that side of the argument at all. For golfers playing on The European Tour, I think it's an amazing thing that's happened and it formalizes a pathway to get to the very top level of professional golf."