McIlroy closes rough week with 76

Rory McIlroy flipped his club in the air and watched it spin end-over-end after his chip shot fell well short of Merion's third hole. The ensuing putt was short, too, and he slapped the thigh of his charcoal slacks.

Sunday's frustrating afternoon capped a disappointing week for McIlroy - golf's second-ranked player finished the U.S. Open tied for 41st place. He shot a 6-over-par 76 to finish the Open 14 over.

The Northern Irishman started his week with much fanfare as he sprinted up the Art Museum steps on Wednesday wearing a personalized Phillies jersey. He opened the tournament the next day in a marquee pairing with Tiger Woods and Adam Scott.

But McIlroy stumbled through the first round at 3 over par before parring Friday's second round. After shooting 5 over on Saturday, McIlroy conceded his chances of winning a second career U.S. Open were gone.

"I think that's what this tournament does to you," McIlroy said. "At one point or another, it's got the better of you, and it definitely did this weekend."

He birdied Merion's second hole before bogeying the third. He finished with four bogeys or worse; on Saturday he had seven.

Merion provided a "really good test," said McIlroy, who rarely plays courses shorter than 7,000 yards. He hopes the event returns to Merion, but he said the pin placement seemed to indicate that the USGA was trying to protect the scores. The pin at the seventh was on the back of a slope, McIlroy said, just a few yards from the green's flat surface.

"They decided to put it on a ridge," he said. "It's a U.S. Open."

McIlroy's short game hampered him early Sunday and seemed to affect the rest of his play. He hurled his club at his bag after digging up a chunk of the fairway with an approach shot on the fourth hole. McIlroy retrieved the club and spiked it into the bag.

He opened the 11th, a hole he hoped to birdie, with a tee shot into the creek. He finished the 367-yard par 4 with a quadruple bogey, easily his worst hole of the tournament.

"Everyone hits bad shots, but mine are just costing me too much at the minute," McIlroy said.