PINEHURST, NORTH CAROLINA – JUNE 16: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland reacts after finishing the 18th hole during the final round of the 124th U.S. Open at Pinehurst Resort on June 16, 2024 in Pinehurst, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
Rory McIlroy choked again. He is a choker. He has admitted it before. In cased you missed it, during Sunday's final round of the US Open at Pinehurst #2, Rory, with the lead, bogeyed 3 of his final 4 holes while missing two very, very short putts and lost the Open to Bryson DeChambeau by one stroke.
Going into Sunday Rory made 496 of 496 putts inside 3 feet. On Sunday's 16th hole he yipped a 2 and a half footer. On the 18th he missed a 3 foot 9 inch putt that, in retrospect would have allowed him to finish in a tie and head to a playoff.
But he had to agonizingly watch DeChambeau finish after him. DeChambeau looked like he was in trouble on 18. He had to punch out with his second shot but the ball landed in a bunker 55 feet from the hole. But the bunker shot was one for the ages as he put it within 4 feet of the cup and sank the putt for a 1 stroke win. At that point, Rory declined all interviews and headed to his car and sped out of the parking lot.
Rory McIlroy Choked Again
Rory has not won a major in 10 years. He plays well, particularly during the early rounds but seems to fall short. Back in 2011 he dominated the Masters for 3 days and led by 4 shots but carded an 80 on Sunday to finish 15th. He admitted years later that 2011 was a choke job and he lets his nerves get to him. Clearly that was the case again at Pinehurst as Rory McIlroy choked again.
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The first golfer to win the U.S. Open in 1895 won $150. Things have come a long way since then, as this year's U.S. Open at Pinehurst has the richest total purse in major championship history.
This year's field is splitting $21.5 million, with the winner Bryson DeChambeau taking $4.3 million.
"We want to make sure that our purse matches how we feel about the rest of our championship, which is a life-changing difference in the game," USGA CEO Mike Whan said. “And I think we’re there and we’ll continue to kind of monitor that.”
Golf purses have gone up pretty rapidly the last few years, much of which is likely a response to the increased money coming at some golfers from LIV golf. But the USGA said they aren't interested in just raising purses for the sake of raising them, as that will just lead to others doing the same.
"We're proud of our purse. I'm proud of the fact that we as an organization consistently ask ourselves whether or not we think we've got our purse right, our TV right," Whan said. "All of those things have changed quite a bit in the last few years, and change is uncomfortable, but I think we're not only keeping up with the times, but hopefully at least in the landscape of majors, in a lot of these cases we're leading."
Let's take a look at how much every golfer won in the 2024 U.S. Open from Pinehurst, including Bryson's big haul.
1. Bryson DeChambeau - $4,300,000
67-69-67-71 - 274 (-6)
2. Rory McIlroy - $2,322,000
65-72-69-69 - 275 (-5)
3. Tony Finau - $1,229,051
68-69-72-67 - 276 (-4)
3. Patrick Cantlay - $1,229,051
65-71-70-70 - 276 (-4)
5. Matthieu Pavon - $843,765
67-70-69-71 - 277 (-3)
6. Hideki Matsuyama - $748,154
72-66-70-70 - 278 (-2)
7. Russell Henley - $639,289
70-70-72-67 - 279 (-1)
7. Xander Schauffele - $639,289
70-69-72-68 - 279 (-1)
9. Sam Burns - $502,391
73-67-73-67 - 280 (E)
9. Davis Thompson - $502,391
70-72-70-68 - 180 (E)
9. Corey Conners - $502,391
69-70-71-70 - 280 (E)
The Rest of the Field
T12. Sergio Garcia, Ludvig Aberg; 1 over: $409,279
T14. Thomas Detry, Collin Morikawa; 2 over: $351,369.50
T16. Tommy Fleetwood, Akshay Bhatia, Taylor Pendrith; 3 over: $299,218
T19. Shane Lowry, Aaron Rai; 4 over: $255,758.50
T21. Max Greyserman, Daniel Berger, Min Woo Lee, Stephan Jaeger, Brian Harman; 5 over: $203,607.20
T26. Brooks Koepka, Zac Blair, Chris Kirk, Neal Shipley (a), Tom Kim, Tyrrell Hatton; 6 over: $149,971
T32. Adam Scott, Si Woo Kim, Sahith Theegala, Keegan Bradley, Isaiah Salinda, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Cameron Smith, J.T. Poston, Denny McCarthy; 7 over: $105,775
T41. Frankie Capan III, Harris English, Jordan Spieth, Scottie Scheffler, Tom McKibbin, Tim Widing, Emiliano Grillo, Billy Horschel, Luke Clanton (a); 8 over: $84,376.75
T50. Justin Lower, Matt Kuchar, Nicolai Hojgaard, Mark Hubbard; 9 over: $48,022.25
54. Nico Echavarria, 10 over: $46,067
55. David Puig, 11 over: $45,632
T56. S.H. Kim, Ben Kohles, Ryan Fox, Sepp Straka, Greyson Sigg, Brian Campbell, Adam Svensson, Wyndham Clark; 12 over: $43,676.25
T64. Matthew Fitzpatrick, Francesco Molinari, Martin Kaymer; 13 over: $41,286
T67. Cameron Young, Brendon Todd; 14 over: $40,199.50
69. Dean Burmester, 15 over: $39,548
T70. Brandon Wu, Gunnar Broin (a); 16 over: $39,113
72. Sam Bennett, 17 over: $38,678
Missed Cut
All 69 professional golfers who missed the cut receive $10,000.
