Rory McIlroy says US Open meltdown hurt but was 'not the toughest' loss he's experienced

Rory McIlroy has had time to reflect on his catastrophic meltdown in the final round of this year's U.S. Open. And after some initial soul-searching, he's ready to get back out on the course again and compete on golf's biggest stage.

With the British Open Championship getting underway next week at Royal Troon, McIlroy is already in Scotland to defend his title in this week's Scottish Open.

McIlroy met with the media Wednesday for the first time since blowing a two-shot lead with four holes to play and falling to Bryson DeChambeau at Pinehurst, and he said he's come to terms with what happened.

"It hurt, but I felt worse after some other losses. I felt worse after Augusta in '11 and I felt worse after St Andrews (in '22)," McIlroy said. "It was up there with the tough losses but not the toughest."

Pressed about how he handled yet another painful defeat, McIlroy was upbeat.

"I got over it pretty quickly," he said. "The few days after it were pretty tough at times but I feel like I’ve done a good job of thinking about it rationally and constructively, and staking what I need from it and trying to learn from it.

"But like for the most part it was a great day. … You know, there’s not a lot that I would change about what I did on Sunday for the first 14 holes. That’s the best I’ve played in that position in a long, long time."

As for his undoing on the final four holes, he admitted he may have been too concerned with what DeChambeau was doing in the group behind him. In that regard, he regretted not being able to stay "in my own little world for the whole 18 holes."

McIlroy hopes he can keep those lessons in mind when he tees it up this week and in the season's final major at the British Open.

"I’ll learn a lot from it and I’ll hopefully put that to good use," McIlroy added. "It’s something that’s been a bit of a theme throughout my career. I’ve been able to take those tough moments and turn them into great things not very long after that."