Rory McIlroy admitted he was left frustrated by missed chances at the PGA Championship as the Northern Irish star quickly turned his attention towards next month’s US Open following another near miss in a major.
The Holywood golfer, who was chasing back-to-back major victories and the seventh major title of his career, finished five shots behind champion Aaron Rai after carding a final-round 69 at Aronimink Golf Club in Pennsylvania.
McIlroy began Sunday three shots off the lead and briefly looked capable of mounting a charge, but several missed birdie opportunities ultimately proved costly as he failed to capitalise on key holes during the closing round.
Despite visible frustration on the course at times, the 37-year-old said he was pleased to have put himself back into contention after recovering strongly from an opening-round 74.
“I played good golf in the last two rounds. I gave myself a chance and that's all I could really ask for after Thursday,” McIlroy said afterwards.
“I’ll rue three holes today that I didn’t take advantage of and that was the difference between a top five and having a realistic chance today.”
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McIlroy said his experience and improved short game helped keep him competitive throughout the week on a demanding course setup.
“I think in these major championships I lean on my experience and I lean on my ability to get the ball in the hole, which is probably better than it ever has been,” he explained.
“My chipping and my putting and scrambling… that’s what you have to rely on.”
Victory would have seen McIlroy move clear of Nick Faldo as the most successful European golfer of the modern era in terms of major championships.
Instead, his attention now shifts to the US Open at Shinnecock Hills in New York next month, where he hopes to challenge again.
“Shinnecock is going to provide a very different test to what we saw this week,” he said.
“I’ll go there a little bit early again, try to get some prep in and refamiliarise myself with that golf course a bit.”
McIlroy believes the course conditions at Shinnecock could suit his game, particularly around the greens.
“Short game is going to have to be very sharp that week,” he added.
“The ball gets away from the greens a little bit, which is sort of more like I like it.”
The PGA Championship had also represented McIlroy’s only remaining opportunity to keep alive hopes of a rare calendar Grand Slam this season, having already won earlier in the year.
However, the four-time major champion admitted he never became overly focused on the possibility.
“It crossed my mind after yesterday,” he said.
“But I haven’t thought about it that much. I feel like I set pretty lofty goals but that one is bordering on unrealistic.”
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Meanwhile, fellow Irish golfer Pádraig Harrington rolled back the years with an impressive performance of his own, finishing tied for 18th after a closing 69 left him one under par overall.
The 54-year-old produced one of the standout moments of the day by holing out for eagle at the par-five 16th before chipping in for birdie on his final hole.
Harrington admitted it had been refreshing to feel competitive in a major once again.
“It was nice to be there, nice to have that feeling going out that I was hoping to shoot five or six under,” he told RTÉ Sport.
The three-time major winner also credited a dramatic improvement in his putting for his strong week.
“I’m putting better this week than I have been for 15, 20 years,” he said.
With the US Open now next on the calendar before this year’s Open Championship at Royal Birkdale — where Harrington famously won in 2008 — the Dubliner believes tougher course conditions could still allow him to compete with the game’s best.
“If we have a tough Shinnecock, or Open, I can hang with people in that,” he said.
