'It took inspired brilliance to beat McIlroy at Wentworth'

Iain Carter
Golf correspondent

Rory McIlroy must wonder what it takes to win a golf tournament, which is a perplexing question for someone who has celebrated 40 victories in a glittering professional career.

His latest near miss, in last week’s BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, was a second runner-up finish in as many weeks - having been beaten by Rasmus Hojgaard at the Irish Open.

Both were titles to covet; at the famed Royal County Down in his native Northern Ireland and then in the DP World Tour’s flagship event. Both tournaments were played before vast galleries raucously urging a McIlroy win.

But we are left to add these results to a growing list of disappointing denouements in 2024; defeat by Tommy Fleetwood in the Dubai Invitational, falling apart down the stretch at the US Open and finding water while in with a shout at the Olympics.

Oh what might have been for the 35-year-old from Holywood in a season that has yielded three wins, but - in all honesty - not in the tournaments where he would most want to triumph.

There are misses and there are misses. Some are worse than others and the fact that McIlroy so consistently puts himself in contention is a hallmark of his relentless excellence.

This latest disappointment at the hands of American Billy Horschel should be easier to take than some of the others he has suffered this year.

McIlroy shot 67 playing in the final group to finish 20 under par without being at his very best. He was tenacious and tactical to remain in contention and unleashed box office brilliance to create the chance of victory.

His imperious approach onto the green at the par-five 17th was matched by a sensational 46-foot putt that yielded only the second eagle of the final day on that penultimate hole.

Suddenly McIlroy could win with a birdie at the last and was standing in the middle of the closing fairway. It was a long approach, the tournament was on the line, thousands upon thousands were watching - a genuine grandstand finish.

How much easier might that very difficult shot have been had he been the reigning US Open champion or winner of the Irish Open or an Olympic medalist?

Who knows? Could have, would have, should have.

But one suspects the immense pressure of that moment might have been a tad easier to handle in that alternative universe. In reality, he appeared nervous, haunted and not relishing the moment.

Of course looks can be deceptive, but the resulting four-iron was short and left, lucky not to find the water. He could only make par.

McIlroy seemed more composed in the play-off and made two excellent birdies. But Horschel, who also closed with a 67, ultimately holed from around 30 feet for a tournament winning eagle.

The better man on the day won and once again it took inspired brilliance to deny McIlroy, just as it had with Hojgaard seven days earlier and from Bryson DeChambeau at Pinehurst in the US Open in June.

"Inevitably you're going to have disappointments," McIlroy reasoned. "Unfortunately I'm just getting a little too used to feeling what it's like when you do and hopefully that tide will turn."

Consider his performances on the DP World Tour this year. McIlroy has yet to finish outside the top four in five events, among them victory at the Dubai Desert Classic in January.

In total, only six players have scored better than him in those tournaments. He has beaten a cumulative 604. A tour leading stroke average of 68.71 compares very favourably with the average of 70.95.

The current world number three is a class above almost everyone on the European tour. He is destined to win a sixth Race to Dubai title in November.

Colin Montgomerie’s record haul of eight Orders of Merit is under severe threat from this generation's undisputed king of European golf.

"I feel like I've really got a knack of playing golf good enough," McIlroy reflected as the Wentworth hoards headed to the exits. "Even when I don't feel I'm playing my best, I'm playing golf good enough to always have a chance."

He is entitled to think that way. "When I show up at a golf tournament, I sort of know that the field has to beat me to have a chance to win," he said.

"That's how it feels. So that's a pretty good position to be in."

McIlroy was at his devastating best when he won at Quail Hollow on the PGA Tour the week before the US PGA Championship in May. He could not sustain that form at Valhalla and then came the crushing conclusion at Pinehurst the following month.

Two clear and playing brilliantly, he seemed destined to end a decade-long wait for a fifth major at that US Open. But he dropped three shots in the last four holes including missing a tiny putt on the 16th.

It was miserable, and was compounded by the ragged DeChambeau making a miraculous escape from a bunker to land the winning par on the final hole. Such an outcome might have finished a lesser golfer.

Yes, McIlroy has yet to win since and has failed to take chances. Some of those misses may have added scar tissue - he dropped shots down the stretch in Northern Ireland just over a week ago - but this Wentworth defeat was different.

Indeed, his performance there showed that he can put bitter disappointments behind him and go again. He is a golfing Chumbawamba, ready to get knocked down but get back up again.

It is good reason for "tub thumping" because this is one of his many qualities.

"I’m a better golfer than I was five years ago," McIlroy concluded. "I know that. It's just a matter of turning these close calls into wins."

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