Georgie Bingham: God damn I wanted it to be Rory
June 18: Rory Mcllroy of Northern Ireland makes his way to the 11th tee during the final round of the 123rd U.S. Open Championship at the Los Angeles Country Club in Los Angeles on Sunday, June 18, 2023. (Photo by Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images).
God damn I wanted it to be Rory. I don’t think that will surprise anyone who knows me, I am sooo desperate for the man to pick up another major and get that now 9 year monkey off his back but again it wasn’t to be.
But - this was not a melt, not a bottle job from McIlroy and I thought it was very comparable to his finish at St Andrews in the Open Championship last year where he was beaten by Cam Smith. (I should point out, the way Smith won The Open and Clark won the US Open last weekend are incomparable but Rory’s day was the same.). The problem is this; because we KNOW Rory McIlroy, we know there’s magic there - deep magic - that makes him one of the untouchables in the game - and when he can’t produce it we are disappointed.
Rory Mcllroy of Northern Ireland misses a putt on the 2nd green during the final round of the 123rd U.S. Open Championship at the Los Angeles Country Club in Los Angeles on Sunday, June 18, 2023. (Photo by Keith Birmingham/MediaNews Group/Pasadena Star-News via Getty Images)
Thing is, no one was magic last week at LACC - Ricky Fowler was a bit magic on the first day, Tommy Fleetwood’s Sunday showing was also a bit magic, but the whole affair lacked pizazz which is weird for something held in LA.
“When Rory birdied the first I went early - I was doing laps of the sofa whoop whooping and imagining his win by four strokes.”
I admit that there were times this weekend when I thought back to some of the most underwhelming major championship wins of the last two decades and wondered if a Wyndham Clark win at LACC might be one of those - you know the ones; Stewart Cink at the Open, Lucas Glover at Beth Page Black - both in 2009 - they were anticlimactic because two legends of the game Tom Watson and Phil Mickelson could and should have won. But the more the final round unfolded on Sunday, the more I found Clark’s tenacity endearing. Despite wanting Rory to win I got to the stage at about 15 where I started to worry that if Clark didn’t win it would be a bit of a travesty.
JUNE 18: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland reacts as he removes his hat on the 18th hole green during the final round of the 123rd U.S. Open Championship at The Los Angeles Country Club on June 18, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Keyur Khamar/PGA TOUR via Getty Images).
When Rory birdied the first I went early - I was doing laps of the sofa whoop whooping and imagining his win by four strokes. I thought it was going to be one of those days for him; where we see the magic that makes him untouchable. McIlroy’s greens in regulations was outstanding on the front nine and surely, SURELY other birdie putts would go in - but they didn’t. And actually if you look at the top of the field - very few got the birdies. Look at the whole week and no one managed the course like Clark did. He had to negotiate a few problems in his final round but all week his putting was top drawer and he appeared to never struggle for read or pace. He was a worthy champion and sends us Rory lovers back to defending a man we expect much much more from even when he does his best.
Georgie Bingham, broadcaster and journalist, writes a bi-weekly column for The Cut Stuff. She’s golf obsessed. She’s ready to go behind the tour.
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