For the second week in succession, Rory McIlroy came up just short of victory on the DP World Tour.
The 35-year-old had looked set for glory at last week’s Irish Open before a late surge from Rasmus Hojgaard left him runner-up, and at the BMW PGA Championship, he again missed out after forcing a three-man playoff with Thriston Lawrence and Billy Horschel.
When Lawrence fell by the wayside after the first extra hole, it was Horschel who closed out victory on the second playoff hole when he made an eagle after McIlroy’s effort to do the same missed by inches.
While the agonizing manner of the defeat at Wentworth will surely be hard for McIlroy to take, he insisted afterwards that, overall, he’s happy with the state of his game.
He said: “Two weeks in a row, I've played well. Just not quite well enough. But you know, happy with where my game is and happy where it's trending. I've got a week off here, and then get back at it in the Dunhill in a couple weeks.”
The near-miss is the latest in a string of runner-up finishes for McIlroy this year. The four-time Major winner finished T2 in his first event of 2024, the Dubai Invitational, before one of the most devastating of his career, when a two-shot lead on the back nine of the final round of the US Open was relinquished to Bryson DeChambeau.
There have been wins too, at the Dubai Desert Classic, the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and the Wells Fargo Championship, although there’s no doubt McIlroy will sense he could have had more glory having come so close on several occasions.
Despite his latest frustration, he was determined to see the positives, and told Sky Sports shortly after his Wentworth performance that he’s excited for the future. He said: “To be able to work on my swing but still go out there and have a really good chance to win, I’m really proud of that.
"I'm excited for the future" 🤩Rory McIlroy reacts after finishing second at a DP World Tour event two weeks in a row pic.twitter.com/Wvzx8ld40ZSeptember 22, 2024
“I’m excited for the future. I’m playing well, keep giving myself chances. Only two people have beaten me in the last two weeks. Happy with how I’m playing and just have to dust myself off and get ready for my last three events of the year.”
Losing is hard. Family makes it easier ❤️#BMWPGA | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/mxc8hey0S6September 22, 2024
McIlroy, who was filmed being joined by wife Erica Stoll and the couple's daughter Poppy outside Wentworth soon after the final round, now has a week off to reflect on his BMW PGA Championship performance before he heads to Scotland for the first of those events, the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, at the Old Course, St Andrews, which begins on 3 October.
