Jon Rahm believes NBC’s golf announcers “severely underplayed” the degree of difficulty for Rory McIlroy’s devastating missed putt on the 18th hole on the 2024 U.S. Open.
McIlroy bogeyed three of his final 4 holes, concluding a shocking major collapse at Pinehurst No. 2 on Sunday, as Bryson DeChambeau won the tournament.
Speaking with Sports Illustrated, Rahm felt the broadcasters were making it out to be a much simpler putt than in point of fact.
“One in every of the things that absolutely burned me, and I believe it was (NBC’s) Smylie (Kaufman) who said it, he severely underplayed how difficult Rory’s putt on 18 was,” said Rahm, who withdrew from the U.S. Open as a result of a foot ailment.
“When he said it’s a left-center putt, in the event you hit that putt left-center and miss the outlet, you’re off the green due to how much slope there may be. You would see Rory aiming at the least a cup left from three feet. They severely underplayed how difficult that putt was. Severely.”
Nevertheless, Rahm cut the announcers some slack because this may have required an intimate knowledge of the course.
“I believe that may occur a number of times where, unless you’ve been there on the golf course and also you’re playing it otherwise you’ve played it, it’s hard to actually explain how difficult the golf course will be, and a whole lot of times they only have those five seconds to say something quickly, so I also don’t blame them,” the LIV Golf star said.
McIlroy missed an excellent shorter putt on the sixteenth hole, his first from inside 3 feet in 496 attempts all yr.
McIlroy peeled out of Pinehurst without chatting with the media after the tournament in North Carolina and eventually opened up on the heartbreak in a post on X on Monday.
“Yesterday was a troublesome day, probably the hardest I’ve had in my nearly 17 years as an expert golfer. Firstly, I’d wish to congratulate Bryson. He’s a worthy champion and exactly what skilled golf needs straight away. I believe we are able to all agree on that,” McIlroy wrote.
“As I reflect on my week, I’ll rue a number of things over the course of the tournament, mostly the two missed putts on 16 and 18 on the ultimate day. But, as I at all times attempt to do, I’ll have a look at the positives of the week that far outweigh the negatives.”
McIlroy has won 4 major championships in his profession but none within the last decade.
“As I said in the beginning of the tournament, I feel closer to winning my next major championship than I ever have. The one word that I’d describe my profession as is resilient. I’ve shown my resilience over and another time within the last 17 years and I’ll again,” McIlroy continued in his statement.
“I’m going to take a number of weeks away from the sport to process all the pieces and construct myself back up for my defense of the Genesis Scottish Open and The Open at Royal Troon. See you in Scotland.”
