Rory McIlroy says he comes away from the US Open feeling “positive” despite describing his joint fifth-place finish as “another missed opportunity”.
The 33-year-old has finished second, eighth and fifth in this year’s majors.
“I have to stay patient at this point because if I just keep putting myself in position, sooner or later it’s going to be my day,” said McIlroy.
Winner of the RBC Canadian Open last week, he was chasing a second victory in as many starts.
McIlroy, who moves up to number two in the world rankings, went into the final round at Brookline three shots off the lead and made the ideal start with a birdie on the first, but carded a total of three birdies and four bogeys in his first 11 holes to effectively end his chances.
Birdies on the 14th and 15th helped him complete a closing 69 and share fifth with Open champion Collin Morikawa on two under par – the Northern Irishman’s fourth consecutive top-10 US Open finish.
Asked if he would take any positives away from the week, McIlroy – whose last major win was the US PGA – said: “Yeah, the game’s there. Another top five in a major; I guess doesn’t really mean anything.
“I’ve got one more start next week in Hartford [the Travelers Championship] before I go to the Open Championship [at St Andrews]. I’ll get two weeks of good rest before the Open and play some links golf and prepare and look forward to that.
“Again, my game’s in good shape. I’ve got one more chance this year to try to get that major.
“It’s still not quite close enough. There were a few holes there today where I made the birdie and then made bogey at the next. To win golf tournaments you just can’t do that.
“It wasn’t that easy out there. I needed to shoot a 65 or a 66 to get the job done and I just wasn’t quite on it enough to do that. I still feel like I played well and shot a solid round of golf, but just not quite good enough to contend.
“I’ll look back at this as another missed opportunity just as Southern Hills (venue for the US PGA) was, but missed opportunities are better than not contending at all. So that is a positive,” added the four-time major winner.
McIlroy has had 16 top-10 showings since his last major success, including being runner-up at this year’s Masters and taking eighth spot at last month’s USPGA.
