The golf world reacted strongly to Rory McIlroy’s latest failure at a major tournament, and in particular to his behavior after Bryson Deschambeau’s memorable victory at the US Open.
McIlroy had a two-shot lead on the Pinehurst No. 1 back course. 2 in North Carolina before faltering after missing two shots on his final three holes.
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That opened the door for DeChambeau to claim his second Open Championship victory with a remarkable par from a terrible position on the 72nd hole to win by one stroke.
Northern Irishman McIlroy has waited 10 long years to add four major titles to his career and his latest disappointment was too much for the 35-year-old.
The sport of golf has long been considered a “gentleman’s” pursuit and has been filled with classy moves by both winners and losers over the years.
So McIlroy’s move to walk off the course immediately after DeChambeau’s winning putt, without giving any media interviews and allegedly failing to congratulate the winner – typically a standard golf move – did not go over well.
The world number two golfer is extremely outspoken and although he is very popular, he is also a polarizing figure, particularly due to his comments condemning the rogue LIV Golf Tour.
His decision to quickly pack up his car and leave sparked a backlash.
“Dear PGA… showing zero class. It’s not the strangest thing, but if the roles were reversed,” was one comment on Ks.
“I like Rory but this is a bad way to lose,” wrote another.
“Bad look at Rory, especially after spending the last few years as a holier-than-thou golf god,” added another.
Interestingly, Deschamps himself was involved in a very similar incident at the PGA Championship exactly one month ago.
DeChambeau gave a hearty hug to winner Xander Schaufel, who had just defeated the big American by one shot to claim the title.
Other golf fans wanted to draw comparisons between McIlroy and some other celebrities from the past.
One obvious comparison making the rounds on social media was Australia’s Greg Norman.
A two-time major winner who was world No. 1 for 331 weeks in his career, Norman is also well-known as golf’s biggest “choker” for his missed opportunities at major tournaments.
His most famous loss was blowing a six-shot lead in the final round of the 1996 Masters, the tournament he wanted to win more than any other.
A disastrous final lap allowed Britain’s Nick Fald to take the green jacket, and Norman is still in front of the press after a huge disappointment.
“I wanted to endure a loser’s press conference,” Norman wrote in a Golf.com column about that day.
“I went into the press room and answered every question as honestly as I could.”
As Norman faced reporters, recently retired Lexi Thompson was criticized for not speaking after giving up a five-shot lead late in the 2021 US Women’s Open.
Golf fans mentioned both of those moments on Monday.
“This could be more trouble today than anything else.” Chickens don’t move. I was crushing on Lexi for not working with the media at the Olympics, and (McIlroy) pulling him out of the parking lot in front of me is even worse. Brutal,” wrote noted golf expert Todd Schuster on X.
“Greg Norman took a 6-shot lead in the final round of the ’96 Masters, then sat in the press room and took questions for 30 minutes. This is a horrible horrible look for the face of golf,” commented a X account called CK.
Although McIlroy’s behavior drew the ire of many, of course, there were plenty who fully supported his behavior after the crushing defeat.
“You have no problem with this. It deserves a decompression. We saw… no need to talk about it for at least 24 hours,” was one suggestion on X.
“He’s competitive, I don’t blame him at all.” He knows he lost, Brison didn’t beat him, Rory beat himself. And it’s a terrible feeling, but he will be back,” wrote another.
“Can’t blame him really, he’d get lost after chasing another major for so long, you’d be horrified,” added a third.
McIlroy’s next chance to win that coveted fifth major title will come at this year’s British Open at Royal Crown in Scotland, which begins on July 18.