John McEnroe issues brutal dig at Rory McIlroy during US Open appearance
Rory McIlroy was in attendance at the US Open semi-final between Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz last Friday, with tennis legend John McEnroe in the commentary booth
John McEnroe took a brutal swipe at golf star Rory McIlroy after the Northern Irishman was spotted enjoying the US Open tennis semi-final following the end of his PGA Tour season.
McIlroy, who saw his PGA Tour season wrap up at the Tour Championship, decided to take in some tennis action, watching the final-four clash between Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz from the stands of Arthur Ashe Stadium. His presence didn't go unnoticed as he became a talking point after TV cameras caught him soaking up the atmosphere.
McEnroe, who was on commentary, could not resist a jab at McIlroy's major drought, which extended to 10 years following this summer's Open Championship.
After his co-commentator alluded to the McIlroy had won three of golf's four majors, McEnroe pounced on the chance to highlight it's been quite a stretch since McIlroy's last significant triumph "It has been a long time!" claimed the tennis legend, as McIlroy was seen sipping a glass of wine.
Adding insult to injury, the tennis icon further quipped, "Little bit of vino to ease the pain." McIlroy came as close as he ever has to ending his wait for a major win at this summer's US Open, leading the way at Pinehurst No. 2 by two shots with just five holes left to play.
It was not to be for McIlroy though, as a disastrous finish with three bogeys in his last four holes saw him surrender the title to Bryson DeChambeau by just a single stroke. This was an excruciating setback for McIlroy, who made a hasty exit from Pinehurst immediately following DeChambeau's clinching putt.
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He later announced his decision to take a three-week hiatus from the PGA Tour. Rubbing salt into the wound, McEnroe mentioned McIlroy's narrow defeat during last Friday's broadcast, commenting, "The close call he had had, was it the U.S. Open? Tough," adding, "Tough one to lose."
Following the agony of the US Open, McIlroy's end to PGA Tour season was somewhat of anti-climax, tying for ninth place in the FedEx Cup rankings after the Tour Championship. Speaking at East Lake post-season, McIlroy looked back on his Pinehurst disappointment two months prior.
"It's been a long season," he claimed. "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. I felt like I hit a bit of a wall sort of post-US Open, and still feel a little bit of that hangover."
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