Rory McIlroy’s latest heartbreak came in familiar fashion

A cat amongst the pigeons. It’s a British idiom that just feels vivid. A person or thing brought in and causing commotion or havoc. A menacing cat, the poor pigeons.

It was the phrase the Sky Sports broadcast invoked continuously Sunday afternoon as various players mounted a charge at Rory McIlroy, the Northern Irishman leading the Irish Open about an hour from where he was raised. There were a handful of cats — Daniel Brown, Matteo Manassero, Grant Forest, Bob MacInture — and thousands upon thousands of pigeons — the Irish faithful tracking their man. 

McIlroy seemed to hold control of the tournament for the entirety of the weekend. When he birdied the first two holes Sunday, he created a three-shot lead. Shortly after making the turn, it was a two-shot lead. As the group of cats leveled off at six under par, it felt like it was only up to McIlroy to close it out in orderly fashion. But as can happen on the final day of golf tournaments, we were all focused on the wrong cats. No one seemed to be tracking Rasmus Hojgaard, playing two groups ahead of McIlroy.

Frankly, absurd things were happening for Hojgaard, too. 

The 23-year-old Dane landed his tee shot on the par-3 10th in a spectator’s handbag, 20 yards short and left of the green. Taking relief, he pitched onto the green and the flagstick got in the way, his ball banking in for a birdie 2. He was five under at the time, and had entered the day with a clear goal in mind: get to eight under. 

After birdies on 12, 14 and 16, Hojgaard had pulled himself into a tie for the lead at seven under. From 143 yards in the middle of the fairway on 17, he landed his approach hole-high … in the left greenside bunker. The broadcasters gasped. It was a can’t-miss zone of that hole and its surrounds. Hojgaard was worried he would find a plugged lie when he reached his ball. Instead, he found it on an upslope with a bit of green to work with. He figured he could get up and down but ultimately did one better, holing out to take a one-shot lead and send an alert to the rest of the course. The birdie he made on the 18th was formulaic — a simple 4 on the par-5 to reach nine under. 

McIlroy had matched Hojgaard with a birdie on the 16th, but three-putted from just 26 feet on the 17th. You could hear the groans from across the Atlantic, an all too familiar feeling for McIlroy fans, the putter letting down the rest of his game. After being in control of the tournament, he suddenly needed eagle on the par-5 18th just to make a playoff. 

With the majority of the tournament looking his way, McIlroy hit a 342-yard drive and a 190-yard 7-iron to just 10 feet — which he later called the two best shots of his week. Keen McIlroy fans will remember the epic drive and iron shot he played into the 17th green at the Old Course in the 2022 Open Championship. It came on the most famous hole at St. Andrews, the Road Hole, when he needed birdie the most. Those two shots were among the best of his week, given the moment. They, too, led to a very makeable putt when he needed it most. But like the 17th hole in 2022, McIlroy’s putt on 18 Sunday slid by the hole, leaving him and his caddie confused by the lack of break.

The Irish Open marks the latest in a string of close calls that McIlroy has experienced in 2024, and has referenced the last few days. There was the season-opening second-place finish to Tommy Fleetwood in the UAE. There was the agonizing solo second to Bryson DeChambeau at the U.S. Open. Then there was his narrow miss of the podium at the Olympics, where he left a crucial approach short and in the water on the 15th hole at Le Golf National. Without that mistake, he’s in a playoff for a medal. 

McIlroy was quick to acknowledge those shortcomings Sunday night. “Unfortunately I’m getting used to it this year,” he said. 

From a close-up angle, a trend reveals itself. But from a 30,000-foot view, another tough loss serves a reminder of the nearly-singular place McIlroy holds in the game. Where his near-misses are magnified because, well, everyone is paying attention. Few other golfers on the planet can finish second this often and feel so badly about it. And for everyone to know and remember. McIlroy’s 2024 has seen three victories, it’s worth remembering. And even if he’ll spend the next few days licking his latest wounds, what he created at Royal County Down in defeat was something he said he’d really never felt before.

In predictable but riveting fashion, McIlroy strutted down the center of the 72nd hole needing eagle to tie. He was in the same scenario at St. Andrews two years ago. Somehow, he may have had more fans invested in him on-site this weekend. They dove down onto the hole between the dunes and filled in on the fairway, inching as close as they could to the green. It created an arena surrounding the green, similar to that of the Old Course, golfer and caddie in the center of it all. These scenes don’t happen often in golf, but they’ve happened for McIlroy a few times. Even if they happen in defeat, they’re worth something.

“The support, I’m very lucky,” McIlroy said. “I get so much support when I come back. I certainly don’t take it for granted. I sort of had to try to keep my composure walking up to the 18th green there. But I did that as best as I could. But yeah, wish I could play in front of those fans and this atmosphere every week. It isn’t quite like that. Yeah, personally appreciate all the support and I can’t wait to come back.”

He knows better than anyone that another chance to win in Northern Ireland will take place when the Open Championship returns to Royal Portrush. That’s just 10 months away.