'Shinnecock won the battle!' - how 'wheels came off' for McIlroy at US Open

Rory McIlroy was left frustrated by seeing the "wheels come off" during the US Open, where a disappointing weekend display saw his major hopes ended at Shinnecock Hills.

McIlroy posted an opening-round 69 and was seven off the halfway lead after a one-over 71 on Friday, then raced within four of Wyndham Clark following three consecutive birdies during his third round.

The Masters champion spectacularly unravelled during the back nine on Saturday, carding five bogeys in a three-over 73, with any hopes of an eighth consecutive US Open top 20 ended by another frustrating final day.

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McIlroy called for himself to "just go home" after a poor approach shot early on Sunday, when he bogeyed three of his first five holes and recorded his worst US Open finish since the tournament was last held at Shinnecock Hills in 2018.

"I think it [Shinnecock Hills] won the battle over me at this point," McIlroy said following his final-round 73, which saw him finish on six over. "I think looking back on the entire week, I'll obviously rue the back-nine yesterday [Saturday].

"I got myself to two under par for the tournament after nine yesterday, then the wheels came off and played a really bad back nine - I shot myself out of the tournament then.

"I was really disappointed coming away from the course last night. You try to come out here today positive and you try to muster up the energy to put a good one in there, but, after a couple of bogeys on the front nine, I was just trying to race my way to the 18th green."

McIlroy was second last of the 72 players in approach play on the final day and 59th in strokes gained putting, with the six-time major champion struggling with his irons and on the greens to continue his tumble down the leaderboard.

"Today he just looked slightly lacklustre," Sky Sports' Andrew Coltart said on commentary. "A couple of years ago he would go out there in the majors and he'd struggle in the first round, play himself out of it, and then would back his way into a top five or something by fighting hard."

Former Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley added: "It has been a seesaw week for McIlroy. One step forward and two steps back has been the order of play for him all week long.

"As he has made a few birdies, he has followed it with mistakes."

All eyes on The Open for McIlroy

McIlroy's finish is his worst result since successfully defending his title at The Masters in April, with the Northern Irishman now set for a fortnight off after electing to skip next week's Travelers Championship - the final Signature Event of the season.

He also missed the Cadillac Championship and the RBC Heritage this season, meaning he has made just 10 appearances in PGA Tour-sanctioned events in 2026 and played in only five of the eight Signature Events.

McIlroy will return to action at the Genesis Scottish Open on July 9-12, which he won in 2023 and finished runner-up to Chris Gotterup last year, ahead of featuring in The Open at Royal Birkdale the following week.

"I'll be playing some links golf this week probably coming up, but it's my favourite time of the year to go back home and play The Open," McIlroy added. "I get to spend a bit of time back there.

"This was not too dissimilar to an Open Championship in terms of how the golf course started to play over the weekend, but a bit of links golf over the next couple weeks will be nice."

Watch Rory McIlroy in PGA Tour and DP World Tour action throughout the season live on Sky Sports. McIlroy will chase major victory at The Open from July 16-19, live on Sky Sports Golf. Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract.