Rory McIlroy Vows To Be Resilient After US Open Meltdown & His Response To 2011 Masters Is Reason Enough To Believe Him

The only way Rory McIlroy can make the scene of him fleeing Pinehurst No. 2 in a hurry after two short missed putts and a one-stroke loss to Bryson DeChambeau at the 2024 U.S. Open is by snapping his major win drought very soon. Bryson's scrambling par at the last hole from a faraway bunker deserves to go down in history as one of the best shots ever. Nevertheless, until Rory rebounds with a fifth major title of his career — and first since the 2014 PGA Championship — he'll be labeled a choke artist by many. Interestingly enough, Rory has been in this sort of tough spot before. A major that was clearly his to lose, and he blew it. That's the subtext of his first statement since Sunday's final round concluded, which he released on Monday: https://twitter.com/McIlroyRory/status/1802808477271630075 It's quite fitting that in this thumbnail, the bottom part of Rory's post is cut off, perfectly underscoring the passage I wanted to make the most out of in the first place: "The one word that I would describe my career as is resilient. I’ve shown my resilience over and over again in the last 17 years and I will again. I’m going take few weeks away from the game to process everything and build myself back up for my defense of the Genesis Scottish open and The Open at Royal Troon. See you in Scotland." For those who aren't super locked into golf at all times, it might be easy to forget that the reason Rory is a four-time major champion in the first place is because a fire lit inside of him from his other most notable choke job. At The Masters in 2011, Rory entered the last round with a four-stroke lead, only to implode with a round of 8-over par 80 to slide all the way to a tie for 15th. If you didn't witness it live, or you don't recall the highlights, I don't think you understand just how bad it was. It felt worse than his final score, if that's possible. https://twitter.com/DanielHussey2/status/1777445496820269495 Such an early-career collapse could derail anyone. Not Rory. He teed it up at the very next major, the U.S. Open, and won that thing by eight shots. Totally blew away the field, Tiger Woods style. It was epic — and all the more badass since Rory showed such dominance, immediate bounce-back ability and maturity at 22 years old. That's how long Rory has been in the spotlight. He was so good so young, and won so many majors by 2014, that he's basically been around for years without much else but majors to play for. To be judged on such a harsh scale, and to be so consistently in the hunt at majors without a win over the past decade, doesn't mean Rory has gotten worse or regressed. In many ways, he's improved as a player since those four major triumphs. https://twitter.com/AlexMyers3/status/1802522364015444001 The problem is, other transcendent talents like Bryson, Jordan Spieth, Brooks Koepka, Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm, Collin Morikawa, and Justin Thomas have come along and won multiple majors since Rory claimed his last. Tiger Woods won his 15th major at the 2019 Masters. Dustin Johnson was already established when Rory burst onto the scene, but didn't win his two majors until 2016 and 2020. Phil Mickelson shocked the world with a sixth major title at the 2021 PGA in that span, too. Only 29 players in the history of the men's game have won four or more majors. A healthy amount of those players got it done well before there was the staggering amount of star power Rory has to try to beat every time he tees it up. It ain't like Rory has been some scrub this whole time. And for anyone giving him sh*t for dipping out after Sunday's devastation, Tiger wouldn't be caught dead sticking around to shake hands when he didn't get it done at a major. If Rory was in the last pairing with Bryson, of course he would've shaken his hand at the end. Rors was just having himself a Southwest Airlines, "Wanna get away?" moment. Cool it with the hatred. Anyway, I've established just how difficult Rory has had it since his last major, how he's been so close so many times at majors in recent years, and his 2011 Masters disaster all to say this: He's going to win another major sooner rather than later. Old Takes Expose me. Do what you will. I just know that even Bryson was acknowledging as much — and even more — in the aftermath of his stunning victory. https://twitter.com/GolfDigest/status/1802500143536566303 I would say that when it comes to golf, Bryson knows ball. And he knows salty balls. For purposes of this exercise, he knows ball. As in who has the chops to get it done at majors. As in who can ball out with the world's best. As in who can get it done when it matters most. Rory failed on Sunday at Pinehurst. But like that 2011 Masters Tournament that preceded his sprint to four majors, that failure will not define the rest of his career. Or so he promises. And so I believe him when he says it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vY6Dqky0smg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75VqgqMNzh8