Rory McIlroy puts underwhelming PGA Tour finish behind him by diverting attention elsewhere

Rory McIlroy’s finish to the 2024 PGA Tour season was an underwhelming one by his high standards, but the Northern Irishman is now enjoying some down time away from the course

With his PGA Tour campaign now over, Rory McIlroy has turned his attention to the world of tennis after attending Saturday’s men’s US Open semi-final between Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe.

Despite winning twice on American soil at the Zurich Classic and Wells Fargo Championship, McIlroy’s PGA Tour campaign was a somewhat underwhelming one by his high standards, ending in a tie for ninth in the FedEx Cup standings – a race he has won more than anyone else in PGA Tour history.

With last week’s Tour Championship bringing the curtain down on the 2024 season in the United States, the Northern Irishman has opted to remain Stateside before he heads back to Europe and onto the Middle East for the end of the DP World Tour campaign.

Taking a break from the action, the 35-year-old was spotted in the crowd watching the All-American semi-final, which saw Fritz overcome his fellow countryman 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 at the Arthur Ashe Stadium. Whilst McIlroy failed to make his mark at the season finale in East Lake, they were plenty of bright moments throughout the year.

Alongside his two victories, the Northern Irishman also came as close as he ever has to winning a fifth major title and a first since clinching the PGA Championship at Valhalla in 2014. His chance came at the US Open at Pinehurst No. 2, where he found himself two shots clear with just five holes left to play.

Things soon turned sour down the final straight for McIlroy, though, as he went on to make three bogeys in his final four holes to allow Bryson DeChambeau to swoop in and win by a single shot. The loss was a tough one to take for McIlroy, who missed two short putts on the way to surrendering his lead.

Rory McIlroy finished tied-ninth in the FedEx Cup standings

In the immediate aftermath the four-time major winner left the Pinehurst site in a hurry, before announcing a three-week break from competition in a statement the day after. Over two months on at the Tour Championship, McIlroy referenced back to his US Open heartbreak as one of the reasons behind his slow finish to the season.

“It’s been a long season,” McIlroy said last Sunday. “And I’m going to just have to think about trying to build in a few extra breaks here and there next year and going forward because I felt like I hit a bit of a wall sort of post-US Open, and still feel a little bit of that hangover.”

His attention now turns back to winning yet another Race to Dubai title over on the DP World Tour. McIlroy revealed he has five more events to play this winter, which will include the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship which will see him compete in the Pro-Am alongside his father Gerry. His season will end in November at the DP World Tour Championship.