Golf is a game of inches. And for Rory McIlroy, a few feet made all the difference.
McIlroy had two costly putts down the stretch of the 2024 U.S. Open fourth round. He missed a 2-foot, 11-inch par putt on the par-4 16th hole to log a bogey. He then missed a 3-foot, 9-inch par putt on the par-4 18th to tally a second bogey.
When golfers say opens are won and lost on the green, they aren't kidding. Those two strokes made all the difference as McIlroy lost to Bryson DeChambeau by a single stroke, finishing at 5 under to DeChambeau's 6 under.
McIlroy has placed in the top 10 of six straight U.S. Open tournaments, per the PGA Tour, the longest active streak on tour. He also has 11 top-five major finishes since 2015, the most for a player without winning any of the four events.
MORE: How McIlroy's missed putts extended one of golf's longest major droughts
The second-place finish didn't just mean another major gone by without a win. It also means losing out on a decent chunk of change.
Here's how much those 6 feet and 8 inches of missed putts cost McIlroy on Sunday.
Rory McIlroy U.S. Open prize money
McIlroy earned $2,322,000 from finishing second in the 2024 U.S. Open, which had the largest purse in event history.
But what about DeChambeau? The first-place golfer earned a check of $4,300,000, a difference of $1,978,000. For context, third-place finishers Tony Finau and Patrick Cantlay each earned a payout of $1,229,051, meaning the gap between first and second was larger than the total payout for a third-place or higher finisher.
It's safe to say those missed putts proved to be among the most costly of his career.
MORE: History of McIlroy's career majors
Rory McIlroy career earnings
McIlroy has earned plenty of dough over the years. The PGA Tour lists his official money as $90,130,223.
He sits at a comfortable third among career earnings, behind only Tiger Woods ($120,999,166) and Phil Mickelson ($96,644,310), while leading fourth-place Dustin Johnson ($75,466,806) by $14,663,419.
DeChambeau had a hefty boost in the career order, moving up 15 spots to now have $34,472,287, with his win.
When was Rory McIlroy's last major win?
McIlroy has not won a major since placing first in the 2014 PGA Championship. That victory, his fourth in a major, earned him $1.8 million.
McIlroy has twice won the PGA Championship (2012 and 2014) with wins in the U.S. Open (2011) and The Open Championship (2014). He has not won the Masters, placing only as high as second, which came back in 2022.
