Jon Rahm thinks NBC golf announcers “grossly underestimated” the difficulty of Rory McIlroy’s missed putt on the 18th hole at the 2024 U.S. Open.
McIlroy bogeyed three of his final four holes to end a shocking collapse in a major on the second hole at Pinehurst on Sunday, allowing Bryson DeChambeau to win the tournament.
In conversation with Sports IllustratedRahm felt the broadcasters made it seem a much easier putt than it actually was.
“One of the things that really pissed me off was, I think (NBC’s) Smiley (Kaufman) said, he grossly underestimated how difficult Rory’s putt was on the 18th hole,” said Rahm, who withdrew from the U.S. Open because of a foot injury.
“When he said it was a center-left putt, if you hit that putt center-left and miss the hole, it’s going to go off the green because it slopes so steeply. It was clear that Rory was aiming at least left of the cup from 3 feet. They grossly underestimated how hard that putt was going to be. Grossly.”
Still, Rahm showed some leniency with the announcer, as this required detailed knowledge of the course.
“I think that happens a few times because it’s hard to really explain how difficult a golf course is unless you’ve been there and played it or you’ve never played it, and a lot of times they only have five seconds to communicate something quickly, so I don’t blame them either,” the LIV Golf star said.
McIlroy missed another short putt on the 16th hole, his first from within 3 feet in 496 attempts this year.
McIlroy withdrew from Pinehurst after the North Carolina tournament without speaking to the media, and finally opened up about his heartbreak in a post on X on Monday.
“Yesterday was a tough day – perhaps the toughest day in my 17 years as a professional golfer. First, I want to congratulate Bryson. He is a worthy champion and exactly what professional golf needs right now. I think we can all agree on that,” McIlroy wrote.
“Looking back on this week, I have some regrets throughout the tournament, particularly missing two putts on the final day on the 16th and 18th holes, but as always, I’m going to focus on the positives of this week far outweighing the negatives.”
McIlroy has won four major championships in his career, but none in the last 10 years.
“As I said at the start of the tournament, I feel I am closer than ever to winning my next Major championship. If there was one word that could describe my career it would be tenacity. I have demonstrated tenacity many times over the past 17 years and I intend to do so again this time,” McIlroy continued in a statement.
“I’m taking a few weeks off to sort everything out and recover before the Genesis Scottish Open and my British Open defence at Royal Troon. See you in Scotland.”
