Rory McIlroy has more accomplishments than most professional golfers can dream of. He has 43 wins on his ledger, including 28 victories on the PGA Tour. He's won three of the four tournaments required to record a career grand slam. All he's missing to join the exclusive list of golfers with a career grand slam is a win at The Masters.
McIlroy entered the fourth and final round of The Masters with a two-stroke lead over Bryson DeChambeau, hoping to overcome his reputation as a choke artist on the biggest stages. Yes, McIlroy is as decorated as virtually any golfer, but he has come up short in spectacular fashion more times than golf fans can fathom.
With that in mind, let's take a look at some of McIlroy's biggest chokes in major championship tournaments.
The 2019 Open Championship was an experience Rory McIlroy would like to forget
The 2019 Open Championship was supposed to be all about McIlroy. The event took place at Royal Portrush Golf Club, about an hour north of where McIlroy was raised in Northern Ireland. Unfortunately, it was a homecoming McIlroy would love to forget.
The experience got off to a brutal start right away on his first shot, as he launched the ball out of bounds. That set the stage for what ended up being a quadruple bogey on the first hole. From then, McIlroy had a lot of ground to make up, and despite a string of birdies, he failed to do so. He wound up missing the cut.
This might not be a traditional choke involving a player holding a big lead and failing to hold it, but McIlroy, on his home turf, failing to even make the cut in the Open Championship was a brutal look, especially when it was thanks in large part to one of the worst first shots of his career.
Rory McIlroy can only hope 2024 US Open doesn't repeat itself in final round of Masters
McIlroy entered Sunday's Masters action with a slim lead over Bryson DeChambeau, the same golfer he was neck-and-neck with at the 2024 US Open.
The circumstances were a bit different in 2024 as McIlroy wound up taking the lead from DeChambeau in the middle of the final round, but he had a late lead — until he didn't.
McIlroy wound up missing not one, but two short putts in the final three holes to turn what was a slim lead into a crushing defeat. DeChambeau did clutch up, particularly in hole 18, but the story of this event was McIlroy missing putts he usually makes in his sleep with a US Open win on the line.
The pressure got to him, plain and simple. McIlroy hopes that history doesn't repeat itself, especially with DeChambeau on his heels, but until he actually comes through in the clutch, particularly on The Masters stage, he'll probably have some self-doubt.
The 2011 Masters likely still haunts Rory McIlroy to this day
Undoubtedly the biggest choke in McIlroy's career is one that likely haunts him to this day - the 2011 Masters. McIlroy, in his third appearance at The Masters as a younger golfer, got off to a red-hot start, ending Round 1 with a 7-under 65. He carried that into Round 2 with a 3-under 69.
McIlroy held a two-shot lead after the first two rounds of The Masters, and doubled his lead after the third round thanks to his 2-under 70 showing. It felt as if as long as McIlroy played solidly in the final round, he'd win the tournament and don the Green Jacket. It's safe to say that did not happen.
Not only did McIlroy blow his seemingly commanding lead, but he wound up finishing 10 shots back of eventual winner Charl Schwartzel. He had a 54-hole lead only to not even finish in the top 10. It still doesn't make any sense over a decade later.
McIlroy has had chance after chance to overcome this embarrassing defeat and wear the Green Jacket, but he has come up short time after time. Will this one be different? He can only hope. Until he overcomes his Masters hurdle, this 2011 collapse is going to haunt him whenever he even thinks of Augusta, let alone participates in the event.