Rory McIlroy ended a challenging week at the US Open on a positive note as he recorded his best score of the tournament.
The Northern Irish golfer had toiled in the opening rounds at Oakmont Country Club before he shot a 3-under 67 in the final round.
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McIlroy found himself teetering around the cut line for much of the first 36 holes before sorting out his woes off the tee hitting 11 of the 14 fairways on Sunday.
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Unfortunately the 36-year-old had given himself too much to do to challenge the leaders as he finished on +7.
It was JJ Spaun, who McIlroy had beaten in a play-off at The Players Championship back in March, who took the honours at Oakmont.
Spaun’s brilliant finish robbed Robert MacIntyre of becoming the first Scottish golfer to win a major since 1999.
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As MacIntyre waited in the scorer’s office level pegging with Spaun, who had the 17th and 18th to play, the American produced two stunning birdies to claim victory.
Spaun’s win also secured him $4.3m of the $21.5m purse up for grabs with MacIntyre taking home $2,322,000.
McIlroy’s final score left him tied for 19th meaning he walked away with a cheque for $267,054.
The five-time major winner is hoping that his final round performance will stand him in good stead ahead of next month’s Open Championship at Royal Portrush.
McIlroy confirmed he will play in next week’s Travelers Championship before taking a couple of weeks off ahead of his return to Northern Ireland.
