Take a look at Rory McIlroy's 'almost wins' from majors over the years as he inches closer to redemption at the 2023 US Open

123rd U.S. Open Championship - Round Three
123rd U.S. Open Championship - Round Three

Rory McIlroy is dominating the 2023 US Open. In the last four tournaments he competed in, he's been impressive. At the Los Angeles Country Club, he is inching closer to winning his fifth major championship title. He has already topped the leaderboard at the start of round four.

The last time McIlroy won the US Open was back in 2011. It has been over a decade since he has won the prestigious title. In his last four appearances in the tournament, he has finished in the top 10 on the leaderboard.

McIlroy at the 2022 Masters (via Getty Images)
McIlroy at the 2022 Masters (via Getty Images)

Rory McIlroy has finished as a runner-up or number three in major golf tournaments several times throughout his career. Despite having competed in the majors since 2007, he has not won a single Masters title. Although he has won all the other three major tournaments, at least, once.

Here are all of Rory McIlroy's runner-up and third-place finishes:

  • PGA Championship 2009 - T3
  • The Open Championship 2010 - T3
  • PGA Championship 2010 - T3
  • The Open Championship 2018 - T2
  • Masters Tournament 2022 - 2
  • The Open Championship 2022 - 3

Analyzing Rory McIlroy's 'almost wins' majors

Three times in his career, Rory McIlroy has finished as runner-up of a major tournament. Interestingly, all happened in a span of five years. Here is a closer analysis of what happened in those three tournaments:


1) The Open Championship 2018

McIlroy finished as tied runners-up with Kevin Kisner, Justin Rose, and Xander Schauffele. Despite having an incredible four rounds, he did not top the leaderboard, at least, once in all four days, which resulted in Italian professional golfer Francesco Molinari registering an inspirational first major win at the Carnoustie Golf Links in Angus in 2018.


2) Masters Tournament 2022

Rory McIlroy has had 15 appearances in the Augusta National Golf Club. He has finished in the top 10 on the leaderboard seven times, yet has not got his hands on the prestigious green jacket.

In 2022, McIlroy came out of nowhere in the top 10 ranks during round three and then finally ended his campaign at second rank, losing to Scottie Scheffler by three shots.


3) The Open Championship 2022

In 2022, McIlroy inched closer to winning two majors but got his hands on none. In the Open Championship, McIlroy stayed in the top five during all four rounds. In fact, he even topped the leaderboard with Viktor Hovland after round three.

McIlroy at The 150th Open (via Getty Images)
McIlroy at The 150th Open (via Getty Images)

However, in the final round, he carded a score of 70 to finally end his campaign in the third rank with two shots behind the champion Cameron Smith.


Will Rory McIlroy register his fifth major win at the US Open 2023?

In the 2023 Masters, the first major of the season, McIlroy was heavily criticized for his deteriorating game after he missed the cut. He then decided to miss out on the designated RBC Heritage tournament. He came back in May's first week and had another poor campaign at the Wells Fargo Championship.

But when he started his play at the 2023 PGA Championship, the Northern Irish golfer found his lost touch and came back to his top-notch form. In the last three tournaments, he has finished in the top 10 on the leaderboard.

He is looking good at the US Open 2023. He is definitely inching closer to winning his fifth major tournament win.

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