Will Rory McIlroy win another major EVER AGAIN?!

Rory shoots a -5, narrowly misses the win by 1 stroke, while the most dominant player in the game (Scottie) shot thirteen strokes worse with a +8. People need to zoom out a bit, other than a couple missed short putts, Rory played amazingly well.

I truly believe Cantlay’s putts influenced Rory missing putts on 16 & 18 ! I rewatched last night. Plus Rory was more worried about what Bryson was doing…lack of focus in the most critical moments.

Jack Nicholas took second place 19 times in majors always shook hands.

I totally agree, I never felt Rory was going to win even when he went up 2 toward the end.

Caddies can make a difference in key moments. Look what Bryson’s caddie said to him with the bunker shot. Podcast idea get a top tour caddie on the podcast.

Phil has 6 second place finishes in the U.S. Open...so he can feel Rory's pain.

I know this situation isn’t exactly the same, but Mickelson didn’t win his first major until he was 34 years old and had the reputation of being a great player who wasn’t clutch in the majors. Rory could still have a late career renaissance. I also think Bryson deserves a ton of credit. Yes Rory slipped up but Bryson had to complete the most difficult up and down in all of golf, with the added pressure of winning the US Open if he pulls it off. Even in a practice round that bunker shot is nearly impossible…

Thanks for bringing up the 2nd place finishes of everyone. It's a great historical perspective on how hard it is to win, even for the best of all time.

You mentioned Tom Watson with 8 majors. What you didn’t mention was that Watson won his last major at age 32. No one could have predicted at the time that Watson would never win another major, just like it is entirely possible that maybe Rory has already won his last major.

Rory's putt on 18 was a tricky putt, down hill, left to right. The other short putt is the one that really surprised me and I'm sure he's really kicking himself over that one. Rory is carrying 10 years of expectations so if and when he wins another I think he may likely win a few more. As someone watching from a distance and as one of the commentators said Bryson played fearlessly and that bunker shot on 18 he went for it and pulled it off. Rory seems more tentative at times. It's hard to win if you are afraid to lose. I sure hope Rory wins another major. Overall, I thought it was a great venue. My only gripe was the wire grass was a luck of the draw. There will always be some luck of how the ball ends up but with the wire grass, two players can hit to essentially the same place and end of with two very different lies.

One of the biggest us open chokes. Right up there with Phil in 06

Mickelson - 45 professional wins Faldo - 42 professional wins McIllroy - 40 professional wins I think he's doing alright

Speaking of 2nd place finishes in majors, the player with the most runner-ups is Jack Nicklaus with 19. Insane to think he had more 2nd place finishes than wins. But I was like you, Rick. Even when Rory had a two shot lead with 4 holes to play all I was thinking was how he was going to manage to lose it, because I knew he would. He just lacks that killer instinct.

I've been saying the thing about his caddie for years. Not won a major since taking on Harry, I don't think its a coincidence. He's a bag carrier, not a caddie.

The caddy take from rick is accurate. Hire Bones, he's a free agent right now. The caddy is the only voice of reason in those tense moments, grounds you, you hear bryson acknowledge his caddy, and make the comment about surrounding himself with the right people. I think he needs a more seasoned caddy. Great take Rick, Guy referencing a psychologist is accurate but have the caddy echo those words of encouragement cause the psychologist can't be on the course with him during those high pressure moments.

Jeezo - Rory is still in his prime and still has plenty of time to win plenty more majors. He's the most consistent player in the last 10-12 years, he's the one player that makes me switch on golf each week due to the way he plays. Yes he won 4 early on when he was younger and without the bruises, now a combination of bad luck, extra pressure and more players at an elite level has contributed to the stats Rick is talking about now. No-one else deals with what he has to deal with and so no-one else truly knows what, if anything would make the difference. Caddy will always be the one that people will attack now, but was it also the caddy that got him int he right mindset to get him challenging in the first place....

Those short putts he missed was heart breaking. I was pulling for him.

I think Rors is dealing with a lot of demons right now personally and professionally. If he can get past that, he can win more majors. I've never seen anyone want a major more than Rory right now. It was tough to watch him get gutted after Bryson made that putt to win.

The real regret for McIlroy is that he honestly couldn't have asked for a better scenario to rack up majors. He became a contender just as Tiger Woods' prime ended, there has been nobody of that level standing in his way. To go on a decade-long drought on the biggest stage with the talent he has and the table set is almost beyond belief.

I think there’s an argument to be made that a loss like this will either crush his spirit and he’ll never recover, or it lights a fire like losing the PGA did for Bryson and he goes off. It’ll be interesting to see how he reacts.