Visibly upset, McIlroy watched as DeChambeau celebrated his win from the clubhouse, before huffily leaving without even offering words of congratulations. To some, his behavior dented his image, neglecting to give recognition to DeChambeau's win and failing to meet his media obligations.
On Sunday, a lesson in graceful defeat was taught by Bhatia, who had just lost at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Bhatia looked set to win, yet missed a birdie putt on the final hole, then failed with the par attempt.
Despite the disappointment, Bhatia managed to hold it together and provided thoughtful comments on his defeat, which contrasted starkly to McIlroy's swift exit. Reflecting on his unfortunate choke on the last hole, he said: "That green's old school, so a lot of slope, downhill left to right. It's a tricky putt just to get the speed correct and I did such a good job all day of my speed being really good until that last hole."
McIlroy has revealed that he needs a break from golf following his disappointing performance at the US Open and he grudgingly congratulated DeChambeau on his recent win.
The renowned golfer took to X, the new name for Twitter, to share his thoughts: "Yesterday was a tough day, probably the toughest I've had in my nearly 17 years as a professional golfer," mentioned McIlroy. He continued by saying: "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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Considering his week at the championship, Rory said: "As I reflect on my week, I'll rue a few things over the course of the tournament, mostly the two 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."
Furthermore, Rory shared his optimism about bouncing back: "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 would describe my career as is resilient. I've shown my resilience over and over again in the last 17 years and I will again."
Finally, he concluded with his plan of stepping back for a while to recoup: "I'm going to take a few weeks away from the game to process everything and build myself back up for my defence of the Genesis Scottish Open and The Open at Royal Troon."
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