After being called out by Jon Rahm for ‘underplaying’ Rory McIlroy, analyst finally breaks silence

Rory McIlroy was at 6-under, the same as Bryson DeChambeau after 17 holes, when the Irishman needed a birdie on the 18th. But while DeChambeau parred the 18th hole, McIlroy’s round ended with a bogey on the 72nd hole and the 35-year-old missed the title. Watching this, the NBC analyst Smylie Kaufman commented on McIlroy’s shot:

“Not outside the hole. It’s a left-center putt, but you can make it if you start it right in the middle, too,” Kaufman said (via Golf.com).

This comment angered Spaniard Jon Rahm, who had turned up the volume while watching McIlroy's final putt. After hearing Kaufman’s remarks about McIlroy, Rahm rejected Kaufman’s reading.

“One of the things that absolutely burned me, and I think it was Smylie who said it, he severely underplayed how difficult Rory’s putt on 18 was,” Rahm said.

This week on GOLF's SubPar podcast, Kaufman said that his comment and the feedback he received for it were a learning experience for him and that he could have been vague rather than blunt.

“I’m not perfect. I did my best to what I thought the read was. I probably would have changed—I wouldn’t have ever given anything definite. I just would have said there’s some right in this, there’s some down in this. Just to be a little bit more vague. That’s a learning experience,” the NBC analyst said.

Rory McIlroy lost the US Open title by one shot to Bryson DeChambeau, who won the trophy for the second time in his career.

How much did Rory McIlroy earn at the US Open?

The Pinehurst match left Rory McIlroy with a hefty paycheck of $2,322,000 as the runner-up. The winner Bryson DeChambeau received $4.3 million out of the $21.5 million purse. Here's the entire breakdown of the purse according to the standings:

Win: Bryson DeChambeau, -6/274, $4,300,000

2: Rory McIlroy, -5/275, $2,322,000

T-3: Tony Finau, -4/276, $1,229,051

T-3: Patrick Cantlay, -4/276, $1,229,051

5: Matthieu Pavon, -3/277, $843,765

6: Hideki Matsuyama, -2/278, $748,154

T-7: Russell Henley, -1/279, $639,289

T-7: Xander Schauffele, -1/279, $639,289

T-9: Sam Burns, E/280, $502,391

T-9: Davis Thompson, E/280, $502,391

T-9: Corey Conners, E/280, $502,391

T-12: Sergio Garcia, +1/281, $409,279

T-12: Ludvig Aberg, +1/281, $409,279

T-14: Thomas Detry, +2/282, $351,370

T-14: Collin Morikawa, +2/282, $351,370

T-16: Tommy Fleetwood, +3/283, $299,218

T-16: Akshay Bhatia, +3/283, $299,218

T-16: Taylor Pendrith, +3/283, $299,218

T-19: Shane Lowry, +4/284, $255,759

T-19: Aaron Rai, +4/284, $255,759

T-21: Max Greyserman, +5/285, $203,607

T-21: Daniel Berger, +5/285, $203,607

T-21: Min Woo Lee, +5/285, $203,607

T-21: Stephan Jaeger, +5/285, $203,607

T-21: Brian Harman, +5/285, $203,607

T-26: Brooks Koepka, +6/286, $153,281

T-26: Zac Blair, +6/286, $153,281

T-26: Chris Kirk, +6/286, $153,281

T-26: Neal Shipley, +6/286, $0 (amateur)

T-26: Tom Kim, +6/286, $153,281

T-26: Tyrrell Hatton, +6/286, $153,281

T-32: Adam Scott, +7/287, $110,894

T-32: Si Woo Kim, +7/287, $110,894

T-32: Sahith Theegala, +7/287, $110,894

T-32: Keegan Bradley, +7/287, $110,894

T-32: Isaiah Salinda, +7/287, $110,894

T-32: Chrisitaan Bezuidenhout, +7/287, $110,894

T-32: Cameron Smith, +7/287, $110,894

T-32: J.T. Poston, +7/287, $110,894

T-32: Denny McCarthy, +7/287, $110,894

T-41: Frankie Capan III, +8/288, $72,305

T-41: Harris English, +8/288, $72,305

T-41: Jordan Spieth, +8/288, $72,305

T-41: Scottie Scheffler, +8/288, $72,305

T-41: Tom McKibbin, +8/288, $72,305

T-41: Tim Widing, +8/288, $72,305

T-41: Emiliano Grillo, +8/288, $72,305

T-41: Billy Horschel, +8/288, $72,305

T-41: Luke Clanton, +8/288, $0 (amateur)

T-50: Justin Lower, +9/289, $51,065

T-50: Matt Kuchar, +9/289, $51,065

T-50: Nicolai Hojgaard, +9/289, $51,065

T-50: Mark Hubbard, +9/289, $51,065

54: Nico Echavarria, +10/290, $47,370

55: David Puig, +11/291, $46,501

T-56: Seonghyeon Kim, +12/292, $44,546

T-56: Ben Kohles, +12/292, $44,546

T-56: Ryan Fox, +12/292, $44,546

T-56: Sepp Straka, +12/292, $44,546

T-56: Greyson Sigg, +12/292, $44,546

T-56: Brian Campbell, +12/292, $44,546

T-56: Adam Svensson, +12/292, $44,546

T-56: Wyndham Clark, +12/292, $44,546

T-64: Matthew Fitzpatrick, +13/293, $42,155

T-64: Francisco Molinari, +13/293, $42,155

T-64: Martin Kaymer, +13/293, $42,155

T-67: Cameron Young, +14/294, $41,069

T-67: Brendon Todd, +14/294, $41,069

69: Dean Burmester, +15/295, $40,417

T-70: Gunnar Broin, +16/296, $0 (amateur)

T-70: Brandon Wu, +16/296, $39,982

72: Sam Bennett, +17/297, $39,548

73: Jackson Suber, +18/298, $39,113

74: Austin Eckroat, +20/300, $38,670