McIlroy's Moving Sunday

Getty Images

Rory McIlroy was left to reflect on what might have been after producing a storming finish to the 115th US Open at Chambers Bay.

McIlroy began the final day eight shots off the lead, but he carved his way through the field as he finally managed to convert the birdie chances that had gone begging over the first 54 holes.

The world No 1 got going with a 20-foot putt for birdie at the second, but he really heated up around the turn as he backed up his sublime long-game with a much-improved performance on the greens.

McIlroy picked up four birdies in six hole before sending the galleries wild with a thrilling 50-foot curling putt for another gain at the 13th, lifting him to six under on the day and two under for the tournament.

But he missed another opportunity from eight feet at the next which took the wind out of his sails, and he failed to get up and down at the 15th after his tee shot rolled off the left-front portion of the green.

The 2011 champion then missed from three feet for par at 17, and a closing five capped a valiant 66 which saw him finish on level par for the week.

"I really thought after holing a long putt on 13, with 16 and 18 coming in, if I could birdie those two holes and get to four under par I had a great chance with the way the greens are getting out there," McIlroy said. "It would have been a number for the guys to really think about.

"When I look back, the last few holes have not been kind to me this week and that's where I will rue some missed opportunities. I feel like it's one that got away. I feel like I've never hit the ball as well in a major championship."

The performance was a solid comeback from back-to-back missed cuts at the BMW PGA Championship and the Irish Open, and he can now look forward to the remainder of the season with confidence restored.

"Of course I take a lot of positives out of this," he added. "The long game is really in good shape. I was really dialled in all week and confident with that. And if I can just get the putting a little bit better and roll a few more in and get a little bit of confidence with that going, I see nothing but positive signs for the next few months."

McIlroy will now have a week off before teeing up in the Scottish Open at Gullane, and he will defend his Open Championship crown at St Andrews the following week.

"I'll go probably to St Andrews the weekend before the Scottish Open or even the Monday, Tuesday of the Scottish Open and play a couple of practice rounds," he said.

Related articles

• Rory McIlroy rues putting trouble after frustrating opening round at US Open
• Top-ranked Rory McIlroy misses home tourney cut again
• McIlroy misses cut at BMW PGA Championship after shooting 78
• McIlroy Open US with 72
• Fowler upstages struggling McIlroy at Irish Open
• Golf: Fowler upstages struggling McIlroy at Irish Open

Some If's and Putts for Lowry

Getty Images

Shane Lowry admitted the 115th US Open Championship had been a bittersweet experience, as he left Chambers Bay proud at having achieved his joint highest finish in a Major, but feeling he might have come away with the trophy.

A closing round of 71 meant Lowry finished in a tie for ninth place alongside fellow Irishman Rory McIlroy and Australian Jason Day on level par but, with a better performance on Chambers Bay’s notoriously testing greens, he may have been challenging Jordan Spieth for the title.

Lowry mixed two birdies with four bogeys in an eventful back nine in which, by his own admission, nerves got the better of him at times. 

But he grew in composure as the round progressed, making gains at the tenth, 12th and 16th holes and making – yet spurning – countless other opportunities.

A closing bogey left a somewhat sour taste in Lowry’s mouth, but the two-time European Tour champion still left Seattle with experience and positives aplenty.

He said: “I feel like I played the golf today to really have a chance to win at the end, but I missed a couple of short putts for par that you can’t be doing on days like this. I just didn’t do enough on the greens this week – if I’d holed a few more putts, I would’ve had a chance coming down the stretch. 

“Even then, I was thinking if I could birdie 17 and 18 and get to three under, I’d have a chance. In the end it wasn’t to be, but it was still a good week for me and I’m probably back inside the top 50 in the world. That was a good coming into the week, so I’m pleased to have achieved that. 

“It was a long day today, and I’ll learn from it. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole week, to be honest. I loved the golf course, and I loved how tough it played. Tough courses tend to suit me and bring the best out of me. Overall, I’m pretty pleased with how I played. When you walk away from a Major Championship and you feel like you played the golf to win, you’ve got to be happy with yourself.”

Related articles

• McIlroy on the move at US Open
• Most important figure at US Open not even playing
• Rickie Fowler among U.S. Open favorites
• New look for 115th edition
• World No. 1 Rory McIlroy happy to let others take spotlight at U.S. Open
• US Open: Rory McIlroy vows to prove he is still ahead of Jordan Spieth at Chambers Bay

Lowry Positive in Chambers

Shane Lowry is Europe's best chance of a fifth US Open victory in the last six years after benefiting from a positive attitude at Chambers Bay.

The course and conditions have come in for a large amount of criticism, with Masters champion Jordan Spieth calling the 18th "dumb" and "unbelievably stupid" when played as a par four and Henrik Stenson comparing the greens to "putting on broccoli."

USGA executive director Mike Davis said players would need 10 practice rounds to get to grips with the course, which only opened in 2007 - but 36 holes of practice were enough for Lowry to finish his third round on one under par, three off the lead shared by Spieth, Dustin Johnson, Jason Day and Branden Grace.

"I said to my caddie coming up the last, it's probably one of the most enjoyable days I've had at a golf course in a while," Lowry said after a second consecutive 70 which featured three birdies and three bogeys.

"Being in contention in a tournament like this, what more do you want? It's great. I'm excited about tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to it. It's tough. It's very tough. But I think it's playable. I think it's been getting a lot of stick.

"The greens are not the best surfaces, but if you hit a good putt nine times out of 10 it goes in. Sometimes you hit a good putt and it misses. That's the thing a lot of players are focusing on.

"It's tough to hit greens but at the end of the day it's a US Open. If you missed the green at Pinehurst last year you couldn't chip. I think that was a little more unfair than this is."

Asked if such an attitude was vital, the 28-year-old added: "Yeah, I said it about three or four months ago. A couple of guys came up and played here and then I saw a few comments on Twitter from a few people. Talking about the golf course before you get here is not necessarily the right thing to do.

"You want to get here and see it and see how it plays. When I got here on Monday I thought, yeah, it's a bit funky, like the first (hole) if you miss it left.

"But the more you play it, the more it grows on you and that's what I felt. And that was one of the reasons I think I'm in the position I'm in today. It would obviously mean everything (to win). I'm going to go out there and give it a hundred per cent tomorrow and what happens will happen.

"I think if I played the way I played today I should have a chance coming down the last few holes."

Related articles

• Dustin Johnson, Henrik Stenson share early lead in the U.S. Open
• US Open Glance
• USGA Announces Groupings and Starting Times for 115th U.S. Open Championship
• U.S. Open updates: Rory McIlroy off to solid start in third round
• Miserable day for Woods at the US Open
• Jordan Spieth calls No. 18 'dumbest hole I've ever played in my life'

McIlroy No Rub of Green

Getty Images

Rory McIlroy admitted he had doubts over his putting after squandering a number of chances to get back into contention for the US Open in the third round.

The world No 1 was again impressive from tee to green at Chambers Bay, but he needed 31 putts in a frustrating level-par 70 that left him on four over par for the tournament.

McIlroy, who has now had 96 putts over 54 holes, started confidently with the short stick as he holed a great putt for par from 15 feet at the first and nailed another from similar distance for birdie at the second.

He converted another sublime approach at the seventh, but he missed "seven good chances" on the back nine and dropped shots at the 11th and 15th before holing from 12 feet to salvage a par-five at the last.

"I missed seven good chances on the back nine, or seven makeable putts, anyway," said McIlroy, who dropped shots on the 11th and 15th. "It was just nice to see one drop at the last there. I feel like I turned a 65 into a 70 today.

"Whenever you start to miss a couple you start to get a little tentative. You start to doubt yourself. You start to doubt the greens a little bit. And then it just sort of snowballs from there. I holed a few nice ones early on, but once I missed a couple it got into my head and couldn't really get out of it."

Henrik Stenson had likened the greens to putting on broccoli after the second round, but McIlroy joked: "I don't think they're as green as broccoli. I think they're more like cauliflower.

"They are what they are, everyone has to putt on them. It's all mental. Some guys embrace it more than others, and that's really the way it is. It is disappointing that they're not in a bit better shape. But the newer greens like seven and 13, they're perfect.

"I played last Sunday and I felt like they (the USGA) brought it a little too much towards the brink then. And it's always a struggle from then to sort of rein it back little bit. I would have liked to see them keep it a little greener for the practice rounds and then gradually as the tournament progresses get a little firmer.

"That might have kept the greens in a bit better shape, but you never know. I've never been here before, but I hear that the weather isn't always like this. If there had been a little bit of moisture and had it been overcast the greens might not have gotten baked out and as bumpy as they are."

McIlroy admitted he was frustrated to four-putt the 17th and drop another shot on the 18th in his second round, but was happy to have ground out a score after missing the cut in his previous two events.

Related articles

• Dustin Johnson, Henrik Stenson share early lead in the U.S. Open
• McIlroy (72) off to rocky start at Chambers Bay
• USGA Announces Groupings and Starting Times for 115th U.S. Open Championship
• McIlroy seven off early US Open pace
• The Latest: Mickelson takes early lead in US Open
• The Latest: Mickelson takes early lead in US Open

Cool Hand Lowry

Getty Images

Shane Lowry is relishing being in contention for a maiden major title after making the cut in the US Open for the first time.

The Irishman missed the cut at Congressional in 2011 and Pinehurst last year, but he is finding Chambers Bay more to his liking as he added a second round of 70 to his opening 69 to reach one under at the halfway stage.

"I was going along nicely and missed a great chance on 12," Lowry said after a round containing three birdies, one bogey and a double bogey. "I thought if I hit a great putt there to get to three under for the tournament I would have been cruising.

It's a bit early to be talking about winning. There's lots of golf to be played yet, so I need to just keep doing my own thing

"Then I felt I got unlucky on 14 and just pulled my second shot. Got an awful lie in the bunker and ended up making double from there.

"I hit a great shot into 15, great shot into 16 (without making birdie) and made a great putt for par for 17 from 10 feet. That was massive in regards to the whole round and then I went on to birdie the last, which was nice.

"It was one of those days that I'm quite happy with. It could have been a little bit better, but I'm in a great position for the weekend.

"The good thing for me is I'm feeling a bit more comfortable on the greens. Not 100 per cent, but I'm liking what I'm doing and liking the way I'm hitting my putts.

"It's a bit early to be talking about winning. There's lots of golf to be played yet, so I need to just keep doing my own thing. I'm driving the ball well. My iron play is good. My putting is getting to where I want it. You never know what can happen on Sunday.

"I felt quite in control of myself all day yesterday and today. It feels good to be here and feeling like the way I felt the last couple of days.

"I was in control of myself, my emotions and everything. I just need to keep that intact the next few days."

Related articles

• Phillips & Burgess Win Golf Championships
• Denmark's Kjeldsen Shoots 67, Takes 2-Stroke Irish Open Lead
• Shane Lowry snaps his putter in half during fit of anger at Irish Open so is forced to putt with a wedge... and he got better!
• Harrington Up and Down Friday
• Sei Young Kim shoots 5-under 68 for lead in Westchester
• Sei Young Kim shoots 5-under 68 for lead in Westchester