Much has been made of Rory McIlroy leaving Pinehurst quietly. It was not so much storming off the gates but rather retiring humbly. Except that, cameras caught him boarding his car without so much of a word. 

Netizens didn’t like the ‘unsportsmanlike’ gesture; they believed he should have shown ‘some class’. Some members of the community think so too. Paige Spiranac, on the other hand, has stood firm in McIlroy’s support. ‘Cut him some slack,’ said Golf Mommy. Shane Lowry agreed.

Nevertheless, Ulsterman has released a statement since then, admitting, “Yesterday was a tough day, probably the toughest I’ve had in my nearly 17 years as a professional golfer.” But more than that, his comments from the Arnold Palmer Invitational throw more light on why the U.S. Open was the hardest smack in his gut. 

Asked about his definition of success in the majors, the 35-year-old said, “I think I’ll always, to me, it’s about how many chances you give yourself to win. And then how many times you convert those chances into victories, I think they’re the two things that are the big things for me.” Rory McIlroy had a shot at both at Pinehurst No. 2.

He grabbed a share of the lead and then went on a solo ride. However, costly bogeys on the 16th and 18th cut that short. But perhaps it started when he pulled his tee shot to the native area on the 14th. That par save on the 483-yard 14th separated his three birdies on a five-hole stretch from the baffling 3-over par in the final four.

What’s more astonishing was that Mcllroy’s success rate from 3 feet was 99.80%. On Sunday, the Ulsterman was gaining 2.21 strokes in putting compared to the field. McIlroy explained in the podcast that the more times you are in contention on Sunday afternoon, the more chances of winning a major. 

“So to me, it’s being up on the top edge of the leaderboard on Sunday afternoon, the more times I can do that, you know, the more I’m going to think it’s been a successful season,” Rory McIlroy told Garret Johnson in the 11-minute interview.

It’s not hard to understand why McIlroy was dejected. But McIlroy affirmed his resilience after a moment of recapitulation. Although he exited the Pinehurst, the Ulsterman refused to bow down from the major scene. The seed of that was also hidden in his conversation from Bay Hill.

Rory McIlroy shows grace and resilience 

Last year, Wyndham Clark pipped him at Los Angeles Country Club. At St. Andrews two years ago, a blistering Cameron Smith wiped away McIlroy’s 54-hole co-lead. At the 2018 Open Championship, the Ulsterman had a share of the lead on the 68th hole. However, he let Francesco Molinari walk away after failing to find any birdies in the last four holes. 

Does it ever weigh him down? Rory McIlroy responded, “I’m luckily blessed with an ability to move on pretty quickly… I can put things in the rearview mirror pretty swiftly.” Similarly, a day after the U.S. Open heartbreak, the Ulsterman said he still believed he was closer than ever to his fifth major. 

Nevertheless, watching McIlroy at Pinehurst was akin to watching Italian forward Roberto Baggio stand in front of the goal alone at the Rose Bowl. Baggio skyrocketed his decisive tie-breaker shot over the crossbar in the 1994 World Cup final against Brazil. He was the leading scorer for the Azzurri at the USA World Cup. 

Roberto Baggio never won a World Cup, but Rory McIlroy still has enough fuel left in his tanker. The most important thing is that he believes he can do it.