Rory McIlroy recounts ‘uncomfortable’ Bryson DeChambeau run-in and hits the right note

Rory McIlroy was speaking for the first time since his US Open heartbreak at the Scottish Open.

Rory McIlroy has made a stellar return to form following his heart-wrenching close call at last month’s US Open, teeing off with an impressive opening round at the Scottish Open.

After almost clinching a major victory for the first time in a decade at Pinehurst No. 2 and relinquishing his lead to Bryson DeChambeau with only a handful of holes remaining, McIlroy suffered a tragic setback, bogeying three of the final four holes to cede the title by a mere stroke.

In the wake of this major disappointment, McIlroy took a brief hiatus from golf, only to come back swinging at the Scottish Open as a tune-up before next week’s highly anticipated Open Championship.

Upon his media comeback before the Scottish Open, McIlroy confronted questions about the trials at Pinehurst head-on. He confessed to a bout of ‘uncomfortability’ during the nail-biting final round against DeChambeau, pinpointing the moment ahead of a pivotal short putt miss on the 16th that led to a regrettable bogey.

Yeah, it was a tough day. It was a tough few days after that, obviously,” he reflected on Wednesday. “I can vividly remember starting to feel a little uncomfortable waiting for my second putt on 16, and you know, the putt on the last, it was a really tricky putt..”

“I was very aware of where Bryson was off the tee. I knew I had to hit it really soft. If the one back didn’t matter, I would have hit it firmer. But because I was sort of in two minds, I didn’t know whether Bryson was going to make a par or not. It was one of those ones where I had to make sure that if the putt didn’t go in, that it wasn’t going ten feet by which it very easily could have.”

Thinking back, yeah, maybe I was a little too aware of where Bryson was and what he was doing but it was the nature of the golf course and how the golf course flowed.”