Reflecting on his season, Rory McIlroy says he should have won his fifth major title this year and loss at Pinehurst ‘stings’

“I should be sitting up here with a fifth major title and I’m not. So that, that stings.”

Rory McIlroy is in Dubai this week for the DP World Tour Championship, seeking his third straight Race to Dubai — the DP World Tour equivalent of the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup — title and sixth overall.

Despite another strong season from the world No. 3 that included his 25th and 26th PGA Tour wins — Zurich Classic and Wells Fargo Championship — McIlroy answered “B” when asked what he’d grade his season.

“It would be a pass, it wouldn’t be a pass with flying colors,” he said with a slight chuckle. “But, um, probably a B.”

The one glaring stain was yet another close call at a major championship, this time at Pinehurst No. 2 at the U.S. Open. McIlroy controlled the tournament on the back nine on Sunday but bogeyed three of his final four holes to allow Bryson DeChambeau to swoop in and win his second major title (2020 U.S. Open, Winged Foot).

“Incredibly consistent again,” McIlroy said when asked to describe his year. “You know, I think I’ve been really proud of that (consistency) over the last few years. But then at the same time, you know, thinking about the ones that got away. I should be sitting up here with a fifth major title and I’m not. So that, that stings.”

McIlroy is more than 10 years removed from his last major conquest, something that wouldn’t be conceivable if you told someone in 2014.

His next chance will be at the Masters in April, the final leg of his career grand slam journey.