Rory McIlroy insists he must shake off his “nearly man” tag after a gut-wrenching double bogey derailed his medal charge in a scintillating finish to the Men’s Olympic Golf Competition in Paris.
The world number three has been pipped three times for major wins in the last three years and while he could point to the sensational run of five birdies in a row he made at the start of the back nine to get within a shot of the gold at Le Golf National, he’s getting tired of coming close and failing to light the celebratory cigar.
“I feel like I’ve been golf’s nearly man for the last three years,” McIlroy said as he shot a brilliant five-under 66 but ended the week four shots behind winner Scottie Scheffler in a tie for fifth, two shots outside the medals, after he found water with a wedge at the 15th and made a fatal double-bogey six.
“I obviously want that tide to turn and go from the nearly man to back to winning golf tournaments. It’s all well and good saying I’m close and close and close.
“Once I actually step through the threshold and turn these near misses and close calls into wins, that’s what I need to do.”
The tournament will go down as one of the most exciting of the golfing season, and it arguably ended the Player of the Year debate as world number one and Masters champion Scheffler carded a course record-equalling nine-under 62 to pip Tommy Fleetwood (66) by a shot and Hideki Matsuyama (65) by two on 19-under-par to make his seventh win of the year a golden moment.
“It’s pretty high up there,” Scheffler said where a gold medal ranks in his career. “I hit some really nice shots on the back nine and hit some nice putts. And really I was just trying to do anything I could do make some birdies, and I was fortunate to be able to get it done.”
It was a day to forget for the joint overnight leaders Xander Schauffele and Jon Rahm — the PGA and Open champion slipping to ninth after a 73 as the big Basque raced four clear by playing the first ten holes in six-under only to cover the last eight in five-over to end up tied for fifth with McIlroy.
“I don’t know what the word is because, you know, I not only feel like I let myself down but to just not get it done for the whole country of Spain, it’s a lot more painful than I would like it to be,” Rahm said.
As for McIlroy, the Holywood star knew he had to go low to have a chance of making the podium and he was proved right as the final round of the Olympics produced the kind of excitement rarely seen outside the Ryder Cup.
“I still think that the Ryder Cup is the best tournament we have in our game, pure competition, and I think this has the potential to be right up there with it,” McIlroy said.
“I think with how much of a sh*t show the game of golf is right now and you think about the two tournaments that might be the purest form of competition in our sport, we don’t play for money in it.”
Tied for sixth overnight, four shots behind Rahm and Schauffele, he turned in two-under, seven shots behind the Spaniard, but surged to within a shot of the lead with five birdies in a row from the 10th.
“When I got to 10 and 11, I looked at the board and I was 14-under, Jon had got to 20 so I didn’t feel like I had a chance,” McIlroy said. “Then I looked at the board again after I birdied 14 and I was one behind and I was like, ‘Holy sh*t, what just happened?’”
His medal dreams ended at the 401-yard 15th, however, when he spun his 140-yard approach back into a lake.
“I hit the shot I wanted to hit but I didn’t get the ball in the air enough for the wind to carry it the extra three or four yards I needed to,” he said. “Tried to stay aggressive and land a wedge between the front edge and the hole. Missed my spot by nearly three or four yards and that ended up costing me a medal.”
As for Shane Lowry, he bounced back from an opening double bogey with four birdies only to bogey the 16th and 18th for a 71 that left him tied for 26th on five-under.
“Yeah, look, you’re trying to shoot a really low score, and you start like that, it’s pretty deflating,” Lowry said. “I fought back well. But you know, ultimately, my damage was done all the first two days.
“When I’m on the flight back to America on Tuesday, I’ll reflect on this and I’ll be like, from carrying the flag to coming here to representing my country to the support I got out there, my memories this week, it’s been very special. Just disappointed I couldn’t do better.”
