Another major stage but there was more misery for Rory McIlroy at the Olympics as he came within touching distance of landing a maiden medal.
The County Down man put in a brilliant final round of 66 but had to settle for fifth despite a stunning Sunday surge.
McIlroy carded five birdies in a row to get within one shot of the lead heading into the final few holes, but a nightmare double bogey on 15 took him out of the running at Le Golf National as he finished four shots off winner Scottie Scheffler.
Scheffler shot a course record 62 to finish on -19 and win Olympic Gold as Tommy Fleetwood was one shot behind in the silver medal position and Hideki Matsuyama won bronze with a score of -17, two shots ahead of McIlroy.
While McIlroy's final round was a disappointment, it was not of the level of fellow multi-major winner Jon Rahm who shot 39 on the back-nine at Le Golf National.
Golf Channel pundit compares Rahm Meltdown to McIlroy
Rahm had led the field into the final day and was firmly in the mix for gold medal glory before his final nine holes derailed his Olympic dream.
Meanwhile, it was McIlroy - who has 11 major top 10 finishes in the last three years - who brandished himself the sport's 'nearly man' after he again missed out on a prize.
Rahm should have greater regrets about the tournament considering how well-placed he had been, but McIlroy will have similar sentiments when he reflects on 2024 as a whole.
His short-putt struggles at the US Open undoubtedly cost him a long-awaited fifth major title success earlier this summer - although it wasn't numerically speaking as much of a fall-off as Rahm's most recent effort.
Veteran Golf Channel pundit Brandel Chamblee still raised McIlroy's US Open woes when reflecting on Rahm's own issues following the final round of action.
Rahm was in the gold position and Scottie Scheffler six back at the turn from the gold position and still wins gold without a play-off," Chamblee relfected.
"Scheffler shoots 39, Rahm shoots 39.
"I’m gonna put that down as one of the biggest collapses, chokes of the year. Right up there with Rory McIlroy coming down the stretch at the U.S. Open."
“I’m gonna put that down as one of the biggest collapses, chokes of the year. Right up there with Rory McIlroy at the U.S. Open.” —Brandel on Jon Rahm’s back-nine 39
Not wrong ! pic.twitter.com/6iMBuZtA3i— Christopher Powers (@CPowers14) August 4, 2024
Ouch.
One fears it might not be the last time McIlroy's US Open capitulation will be used for comparison in the near future.
That said, his game still appears to be in a good place - something which could leave him thinking what could have been for 2024.
