Rory McIlroy has made his feelings clear after falling agonisingly short at the Genesis Invitational in Los Angeles, finishing a single stroke behind champion Jacob Bridgeman.
The Northern Irishman conceded that his spirited fightback ultimately was not enough to overtake the American.
McIlroy had been sitting at level par through the tournament’s midway point before mounting a dramatic charge on the final back nine.
His late rally saw him climb within touching distance of victory, but Bridgeman held firm to claim the title.
McIlroy said: “I’ll rue basically all 18 holes yesterday and then the front nine today, like 27 holes where I failed to capitalise on the chances I gave myself.
“Once I started to trust my reads a bit on the back nine and I went more with my first instinct, I putted a little bit better.
“I was reading too much into them, and then I’d see Jacob’s putt from the other side do something, I was like, ‘oh, that looked like it went more left than he thought it would’, so I’m sort of factoring that in.
“I was almost just giving them too much thought and not going with my first instinct and that sort of cost me.”
Rory McIlroy has made his feelings clear after falling agonisingly short at the Genesis Invitational in Los Angeles
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It was an improvement from last week when McIlroy finished tied for 14th at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
He slipped out of contention following triple and double bogeys in the third round.
McIlroy added: “If you look at how I played last week, the birdies that I made – yeah, OK, I made a few big numbers but I was able to cut those big numbers out this week.
“I think I only had three bogeys for the week.”
Rory McIlroy conceded that his spirited fightback ultimately was not enough to overtake the American
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He added: I feel like my game’s in really good shape.”
Jacob Bridgeman secured his maiden PGA Tour triumph, whilst McIlroy was left to rue what might have been.
McIlroy produced a superb closing round of 67, firing four birdies across the inward nine holes to apply maximum pressure on the leader.
Bridgeman, meanwhile, struggled to a nervous 72 as his advantage dwindled throughout the afternoon.
Rory McIlroy had been sitting at level par through the tournament’s midway point before mounting a dramatic charge on the final back nine
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GETTY
Despite the wobble, the American managed to steady himself when it mattered most, holing a crucial par putt on the 18th green.
His winning total of 18 under par proved just enough to hold off both McIlroy and fellow American Kurt Kitayama, who also finished tied for second place.
The victory marked Bridgeman’s breakthrough moment on the PGA Tour and secured the rookie with a nearly £3million pay check.
McIlroy went home with a hefty paycheque of just over £1.3million.
England’s Tommy Fleetwood also shot a four-under 67 to secure a top-10 finish, while Marco Penge finished on 10 under after a final round of 70.
