Rory McIlroy to 'take a few weeks away' from golf, will return for Scottish Open

Rory McIlroy broke his silence and released a statement following his collapse during Sunday’s final round at the US Open. In his statement, he revealed he’ll step away from golf for a few weeks.

During Sunday’s round, McIlroy had a three shot lead over eventual champion Bryson DeChambeau. However, bogies in three of his last four holes, including missed putts inside four feet on No. 16 and 18, McIlroy lost the lead.

After skipping a post-tournament media session, McIlroy addressed the weekend.

“Yesterday was a tough day, probably the toughest I’ve had in my nearly 17 years as a professional golfer,” McIlroy said. “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.”

DeChambeau was a crowd favorite as he won his second US Open. McIlroy was previously outspoken about golfers who left the PGA Tour for LIV Golf, including DeChambeau.

However, he commended DeChambeau for his win and reflected on his own performance. McIlroy last won a major championship in 2014.

“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,” McIlroy wrote in his statement. “But, as I always do, I’ll look at the positives of the week that far outweigh the negatives. 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 resilience over and over again in the last 17 years and I will again.”

That’s when McIlroy announced his next steps for the 2024 season.

“I’m going to take a few weeks away from the game to process everything and build myself back up for my defense of the Genesis Scottish Open and The Open at Royal Troon,” he said. “See you in Scotland.”

McIlroy has 26 career wins on the PGA Tour and 17 on the European Tour. While he hasn’t won a major in 10 years, McIlroy won the PGA Championship twice (2012 and ’14), the US Open in 2011 and The Open Championship in 2014.

His last win overall came in May with a win in the Wells Fargo Championship, his fourth win at the tournament. McIlroy won it with a score of -17 under par, beating runner up Xander Schauffele by five strokes.