Reince Priebus, once Donald Trump’s White House Chief of Staff, has taken an unexpected swipe at Rory McIlroy over his memorable stumble at the U.S. Open.
Priebus was talking about Kamala Harris and her performance discussing economic and immigration issues, key topics for the candidates before the US election.
He remarked, “She wanted to clarify the two most important issues that are facing these two candidates, the economy and immigration. And she bombed like Rory at the U.S. Open.”
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He was, of course, alluding to McIlroy’s heartbreaking loss at Pinehurst earlier this year, where he blew a two-stroke lead with just five holes remaining. The 35-year-old’s collapse, which included three bogies, allowed Bryson DeChambeau to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
McIlroy’s usually reliable putting deserted him as he missed two crucial par putts from within four feet, ultimately dashing his hopes of triumph after he had impressively erased a three-shot deficit overnight. Understandably, McIlroy was devastated as he witnessed DeChambeau sink the winning putt, and he hastily departed without offering congratulations to his rival.
Looking back on that fateful final round, McIlroy confessed that it was a tough pill to swallow, but he has since begun to focus on the positives after initially struggling to come to terms with the disappointment. “I did things on that Sunday that I haven’t been able to do in the last couple years,” he reflected in July.
McIlroy threw away a golden chance of victory earlier this year (
(Image: GETTY))
“I took control of the golf tournament, held putts when I needed to. Well, mostly when I needed to. Made birdies, you know, really got myself in there. And then, look, obviously unfortunately to miss those last two putts, or the putt on 16 and obviously the putt on 18. Yeah, it was a tough day and it was a tough few days after that, obviously.
“But I think as you get further away from it happening, you start to see the positives and you start to see all the good things that you did throughout the week. There’s learnings in there, too, right? I can vividly remember starting to feel a little uncomfortable waiting for my second putt on 16, and you know, the putt on the last, it was a really tricky putt, and I was very aware of where Bryson was off the tee. I knew I had to hit it really soft.”
“If the one back didn’t matter, I would have hit it firmer, but I was sort of in two minds. I didn’t know whether Bryson was going to make a par or not.”
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