Rory McIlroy rues cold putter after falling short in U.S. Open - ESPN

LOS ANGELES — Rory McIlroy got the sort of break most players need to win a U.S. Open. If only he could've made a putt or two to go with it.

The golf gods, to say nothing of the golf rulebook, gave McIlroy a chance to save par after his approach shot on the 14th hole came up short and embedded in the deep grass above a greenside bunker. But McIlroy missed the putt — a common theme on Sunday — and made his only bogey of the day. That single shot cost him in a 1-stroke loss to Wyndham Clark.

McIlroy shot even-par 70 — one birdie, 16 pars and that single bogey — to finish at 9-under 271. His drought in the majors is now at 33 tournaments, a dry spell that is nearing nine full years.

«I think the putter, I'll rue some of the chances that I missed,» McIlroy said. «It was hard to get the ball really close all day. It was that and that wedge shot on 14, coming up a little short, those are the things I'll rue today.»

He finished the day with 36 putts over 18 holes — no need for complex math there — and didn't sink a single putt over 8 feet.

His attempt to tie things on the 18th green looked like most all of the 18 birdie tries he had over a day in which he hit the ball as well as anyone from tee to green. It was a 40-footer that looked like it was tracking but drifted away at the end for a simple tap-in.

But if there was a single moment that defined the day for McIlroy, it came on the par-5 14th. After driving into the left rough, he punched out to the fairway and had a 125-yard shot into the narrow green.

The approach came up short. He put both hands on his knees, bent down and stared at his caddie, Harry Diamond, in disbelief. Moments later, McIlroy was down on his knees near the bunker, desperately trying to find the ball