John McEnroe roasts Rory McIlroy over 10-year major drought at U.S. Open final

John McEnroe took a brutal hit at Rory McIlroy after the four-time major champion attended the U.S. Open semi-final between Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz last Friday.

McIlroy - whose PGA Tour season came to an end at the Tour Championship the week previously - took some time away from the golf course to enjoy the tennis after a TV camera captured him watching the final-four clash at the Arthur Ashe Stadium. After featuring on the broadcast, he was quickly spotted by commentator, McEnroe.

And whilst the Northern Irishman in the crowd was no doubt looking to forget about golf for a few hours at least, the tennis legend could not help but bring up McIlroy's major woes.

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After it was mentioned by his co-commentator that the 35-year-old had won three of golf's four majors, McEnroe was quick to remind those watching that his last flagship win came some time ago. "It has been a long time!" commented McEnroe, as McIlroy sipped on a glass of wine.

"Little bit of vino to ease the pain," the 65-year-old brutally added. McIlroy did come as close as he ever has to ending his 10-year wait for a major crown at June's U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2. With just five holes left to play, McIlroy found himself two shots clear of his closest rival Bryson DeChambeau.

The European endured a nightmare finish down the stretch though, bogeying three of his last four holes - which included two short missed putts for par - to lose the title to DeChambeau by a single shot. It proved to be a bitter pill to swallow for McIlroy, who swiftly exited the Pinehurst site just moments after DeChambeau's winning putt.

A day later he finally broke his silence, claiming he would be taking a three-week break from the PGA Tour in the aftermath of his loss. And McEnroe thought it would be best to bring up the Northern Irishman's near-miss during last Friday's broadcast.

"The close call he had had, was it the U.S. Open? Tough," McEnroe added on commentary. "Tough one to lose." In the aftermath of his U.S. Open heartbreak, McIlroy's PGA Tour campaign come to a stuttering end, finishing the campaign in a tie for ninth in the FedEx Cup standings following the Tour Championship.

Speaking after the season finale at East Lake, McIlroy referenced back to the disappointment he endured at Pinehurst two months earlier. "It's been a long season," McIlroy said. "And I'm going to just have to think about trying to build in a few extra breaks here and there next year and going forward.

"I felt like I hit a bit of a wall sort of post-US Open, and still feel a little bit of that hangover." McIlroy's year is far from over though. He will head back to Europe and then onto the Middle East, with the DP World Tour season coming to an end over the next two weeks.