Jon Rahm believes NBC’s golf announcers “severely underplayed” the degree of difficulty for Rory McIlroy’s devastating missed putt on the 18th hole at the 2024 U.S. Open.
McIlroy bogeyed three of his final four holes, concluding a stunning 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 reality.
“One of the things that absolutely burned me, and I think 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 due to a foot ailment.
“When he said it’s a left-center putt, if you hit that putt left-center and miss the hole, you’re off the green because of how much slope there is. You could see Rory aiming at 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 would have required an intimate knowledge of the course.
“I think that can happen a few times where, unless you’ve been there on the golf course and you’re playing it or you’ve played it, it’s hard to truly explain how difficult the golf course can be, and a 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 even shorter putt on the 16th hole, his first from within 3 feet in 496 attempts all year.
McIlroy peeled out of Pinehurst without speaking to 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 tough day, probably the toughest I’ve had in my nearly 17 years as a professional golfer. Firstly, I’d like 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.
“As I reflect on my week, I’ll rue a few things over the course of the tournament, mostly the 2 missed putts on 16 and 18 on the final day. But, as I always try to do, I’ll look at the positives of the week that far outweigh the negatives.”
McIlroy has won four major championships in his career but none in the last decade.
“As I said at the start of the tournament, I feel closer to winning my next major championship than I ever have. The one word that I would describe my career as is resilient. I’ve shown my resilience over and over again in the last 17 years and I will again,” McIlroy continued in his statement.
“I’m going to take a few weeks away from the game to process everything and build myself back up for my defense of the Genesis Scottish Open and The Open at Royal Troon. See you in Scotland.”