McIlroy concluded the event at Le Golf National tied for fifth place, with a 15-under-par score for the week, finishing four strokes behind champion Scottie Scheffler. It was yet another instance of missed opportunity for the Northern Irishman , who once again found himself in a promising position on the leaderboard but fell short of victory.
His impressive list of achievements includes four major titles, all won within a three-year span from 2011 to 2014. However, since his last major win at the PGA Championship a decade ago, he has struggled to add to his record, narrowly missing out on several occasions .
Notably, McIlroy came close at the 2022 Open Championship, as well as the last two US Opens, the most recent of which was just a few weeks ago. The Northern Irishman seemed poised to finally end his wait for a fifth flagship title at Pinehurst No.2, holding a two-shot lead with only five holes remaining.
Bryson DeChambeau clinched the US Open title by a single shot, thanks to three costly bogeys down the final stretch. After another near miss in Paris this week, McIlroy admitted: "I feel like I've been golf's Nearly Man for the last three years. I obviously want that tide to turn and go from the Nearly Man to back to winning golf tournaments.
"It's all well and good saying I'm close and close and close. Once I actually step through the threshold and turn these near misses and close calls into wins, that's what I need to do."
Previously, McIlroy had downplayed the significance of the Olympics in men's professional golf. However, after an impressive tournament in the French capital this week, his opinion seems to have changed.
Reflecting on the success of the event amid a turbulent time off the course due to the ongoing fallout between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, he added: "I still think that the Ryder Cup is the best tournament that we have in our game. Pure competition, and I think this has the potential to be right up there with it."
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