Rory McIlroy's true colors revealed - star turns down $4 million payday after US Open collapse

Rory McIlroy has opted out of the upcoming Travelers Championship , foregoing a shot at a hefty $4million (£3.1m) prize following his US Open defeat to Bryson DeChambeau.

The 35-year-old took to social media to announce his withdrawal from this weekend's tournament after being narrowly beaten by DeChambeau in North Carolina . On Monday, he shared on X: "Yesterday was a tough day, probably the toughest I've had in my nearly 17 years as a professional golfer."

He extended his congratulations to DeChambeau , stating: "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."

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Reflecting on the event, McIlroy acknowledged some regrets but chose to focus on the positives: "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."

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He remained optimistic about his future prospects: "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 could describe my career as is resilient. I've shown my resilience over and over again in the last 17 years and I will again.", reports the Express .

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McIlroy concluded by revealing his plans to take a break and prepare for upcoming tournaments: "I'm going to take a few weeks away from the game to process everything and build myself back up for my defense at the Genesis Scottish Open and The Open at Royal Troon. See you in Scotland."

McIlroy has decided to skip the Travelers Championship, which offers a hefty first place prize of $4m (£3.1m), in order to prepare for The Open.

The 2024 PGA Tour calendar's eighth and final signature event will see some of the world's top golfers, including Jason Day, Tony Finau, Rickie Fowler and Scottie Scheffler, compete from June 20 to June 23.

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McIlroy's decision to withdraw from the tournament follows a tough loss to DeChambeau, who denied him his first major title since the 2014 PGA Championship at Valhalla. Despite looking set to win the US Open over the weekend, Rory missed crucial par putts on the 16th and 18th holes.

DeChambeau secured the second major title of his career with a four-foot putt on the 18th at Pinehurst No. 2 on Sunday.

This led McIlroy to avoid the media and skip the presentation ceremony shortly after Bryson's final ball sank.