5 Rory McIlroy Near-Misses At Majors Since His Last Win At The 2014 PGA Championship

When Rory McIlroy lifted high the Wannamaker Trophy in 2014 after his one-shot victory at the PGA Championship, few watching on thought it would be long until they saw McIlroy achieve the feat again.

McIlroy had won four Majors in as many years by this point, and by winning the PGA Championship at Valhalla, he became the first since Padraig Harrington to win consecutive Majors after winning the Open Championship at Hoylake the month prior. 

And yet, in 2024, the Northern Irishman will begin his tenth season since that PGA Championship victory; a ten-year spell that has seen him fail to win another Major championship.

Brooks Koepka - a year younger than McIlroy - has won five in that time. Jordan Spieth has captured three. But McIlroy's search for his fifth Major - his first in a decade - goes on. 

This is not to suggest that McIlroy has not played well. Over the last ten years, he has registered 20 top-ten finishes in Majors, including seven in his last eight starts. He has won 19 times on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour combined. 

Just not when it matters most.

As the 34-year-old prepares for the 2024 Major season, here's a look back at some of his most notable near-misses in that decade-long stretch. 

2023 US Open

McIlroy's most recent close shave came at the 2023 US Open at Los Angeles Country Club. Going into the final round, he trailed Wyndham Clark and Rickie Fowler by just a solitary shot. 

A birdie at the first hole shot him into the tie for the lead and, as Fowler faded, it became a straight shoot-out between the four-time Major champion and Clark - the 150/1 pre-tournament outsider whose previous best finish in any Major was a tie for 75th in the 2021 PGA Championship.

But it was the unheralded American who would pip the Northern Irishman to the post, with a gutsy, hard-fought display down the stretch. McIlroy's only blip came from an unforced error and bogey on the 14th - with only a wedge in hand - but the Ulsterman also failed to find another birdie after the first hole to claw back ground on Clark, who nervelessly parred the final two holes to ensure a shock victory. 

It was the Northern Irishman's best Major performance in 2023, but also a missed opportunity that he admitted he still "rues" to this day.

2022 Open Championship

If the 2023 US Open represented McIlroy's most recent near-miss, then the 2022 Open Championship will no doubt be the most heartbreaking. 

Hosted at St Andrews, he had looked imperious throughout the first three rounds and held a tie for the lead with Viktor Hovland and a four-shot advantage over the rest of the field going into the final round.

The Old Course is one of golf's most iconic venues, but also one that presents a distinctly different challenge. Low scoring and birdies are a must and it was something that deserted McIlroy on that Sunday.

Despite holding a two-shot lead at the turn, the Northern Irishman stalled - making just two birdies in his entire round - and was hunted down by the relentless brilliance of Cameron Smith, who made six birdies in his last nine holes to post an Open record-equalling low score of -20 and snatch victory from the hands of the home favourite. McIlroy would eventually finish two shots back in third on -18.

2021 US Open

After a sparkling, four-under-par 67 on Saturday - the low round of the day - McIlroy catapulted himself up the leaderboard and just two shots off the lead heading into Sunday.

McIlroy started well in the final round and managed to get into a share of the lead midway through his front nine. However, his tournament hopes would fall apart at the 12th after the Northern Irishman made a double-bogey six from the greenside bunker to compound a bogey on the previous hole.

From there, he was unable to summon a fightback, making a further bogey on 17 to finish in a tie for seventh as Jon Rahm surged through the field with a birdie-birdie finish to capture his first Major triumph. 

2018 Open Championship

Entering the final round at Carnoustie four shots off the lead, McIlroy stuttered with two bogeys in his first eight holes to drop further off the pace. However, after birdies at the ninth and 11th, he then drained a superb long-range eagle put on the 14th to briefly join a six-way share of the lead at -6.

Despite that, the Northern Irishman failed to find a birdie in his final four holes and was piped to the post by Italy's Francesco Molinari, who battled superbly in windy conditions, making birdie, too, at the 14th before a glorious approach into the last ensured he posted a score of -8 that wasn't caught by the overnight leaders. 

McIlroy's eventual T2 finish is his best at the Open Championship since his 2014 win at Hoylake. 

2018 Masters 

Starting in the final pairing alongside Patrick Reed, McIlroy initially trailed the American by three shots. However, after an opening-hole bogey from Reed, McIlroy had the chance to tie the lead with a four-foot eagle putt on the second. 

The effort somehow passed him by and although the birdie cut the overnight advantage to just a shot, the missed opportunity set the tone for a clumsy front nine for the Northern Irishman, with bogeys at 3, 5 and 8 ensuring that was as close as he would get to the top of the leaderboard. 

Reed, meanwhile, bounced back superbly from his nervy opening, finding birdies at the third and seventh to open up a four-shot heading into the back nine.

McIlroy's dismal Sunday continued after the turn as he faded further from contention, eventually shooting a two-over-par 74 to drop back to -9 and a share for fifth. Reed, meanwhile, held off back-nine charges from fellow Americans Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler to post a score of -15 and claim a one-shot victory for his maiden Major championship.