Rory McIlroy says he would take 100 more Sunday disappointments like just missing out on a second US Open title to secure his long-awaited fifth major title - but he insists he is getting close to sealing the deal.
McIlroy's quest to break his nine-year duck in the majors almost ended at Los Angeles Country Club last night when he lost out to first-time major winner Wyndham Clark by one shot.
The Northern Irishman's putter went cold in his final round beyond a first hole birdie and, coupled with his only bogey of the day on 14, that was enough to keep Clark just out of reach.
READ MORE: US Open 2023 final round recap: Wyndham Clark beats out Rory McIlroy to win US Open
McIlroy's runner-up finish earned him $2.16m in prize money but afterwards he acknowledged that it was tiring to yet again be discussing coming so near yet so far to that elusive major title as he closes in on nine years since his PGA Championship success in Valhalla.
"It is," he said. "But at the same time, when I do finally win this next major, it's going to be really, really sweet.
"I would go through 100 Sundays like this to get my hands on another major championship.
"There was a couple of things that I probably would have done differently, but all in all, I played a solid round of golf.
"That one wedge shot on 14, missed birdie putt on 8, really apart from that, I did everything else the way I wanted to.
"Yeah, fine, fine margins at this level and at this tournament especially, but I fought to the very end. I obviously never give up.
"And I'm getting closer. The more I keep putting myself in these positions, sooner or later it's going to happen for me. Just got to regroup and get focused for Hoylake in a few weeks' time."
McIlroy looked in control throughout most of his round but Clark hung tough for most of his round. Although the American faltered on 15 and 16, he had enough in the tank to finish with two pars to secure a career-changing victory.
For the Holywood man, the final round was somewhat reminiscent of last year at St Andrews in the British Open when he failed to ignite on the greens and Cameron Smith pipped him to the post.
McIlroy acknowledged as much as he reflected on his finish in LA but, after playing the Travelers next week followed by the Scottish Open, he will be returning to Hoylake for the British Open - the scene of his third major triumph back in 2014.
"I thought I did really well at executing my game plan, hitting a lot of fairways, hitting a lot of greens, again, what you should do at a US Open," he said.
"If anything, I felt like over the last two days when the greens started to get quite crispy that my speed control was off a little bit, and I think that's the reason I didn't hole a lot of putts.
"I don't think I was hitting bad putts - just hitting them just with slightly the wrong speed. Some were coming up short, some were going a little long.
"I can play free. I think I proved that today. Just felt like my speed control was a little off with the putter. That's probably why I didn't make a birdie since the first.
"The last real two chances I've had at majors I feel like have been pretty similar performances, like St Andrews last year and then here.
"Not doing a lot wrong, but I didn't make a birdie since the first hole today. Just trying to be a little more, I guess, efficient with my opportunities and my looks.
"Again, overall when you're in contention going into the final round of a US Open, I played the way I wanted to play. There was just a couple of shots, two or three shots over the course of the round that I'd like to have back.
"I'll play Travelers next week, I'll play the Scottish Open, but I'm focused on making sure that I'm ready to go for Liverpool."
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