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• Dealing with 'unfair expectations' just 'part of the gig' for McIlroy

  Rory McIlroy knows dealing with "unfair expectations" comes with the territory as one of golf's star names.

  The four-time major winner was close to ending his long wait for a fifth such title at the U.S. Open earlier this year, but suffered a heartbreaking near-miss.

  Bryson DeChambeau capitalised on McIlroy's wobble, and the Northern Irishman has now not won a major for a decade, with his last triumph arriving at the 2014 PGA Championship. 

  McIlroy had previously won the 2011 U.S. Open, the PGA Championship in 2023 and The Open two years later. 

  "I'm hard on myself, but at the same time, I try very hard to focus on the positives and move forward," McIlroy told Sky Sports.

  "I learn from my mistakes and then move on, because that's all you can do in any walk of life.

  "I think what the hard thing is in my position is your disappointments and your mistakes keep getting brought up to you every time that you get in front of a camera or you're in a press conference or answering questions. That's the tough part of this gig.

  "At the same time, I am in a very fortunate position that this is what I get to do for a living. If I have to deal with what people deem are unfair expectations or are held to a higher standard than others, then so be it.

  "I'd much rather have it this way than if people didn't really care about what I was doing on the golf course."

  The 35-year-old has been nominated for the 2024 PGA Tour Player of the Year award and won his sixth Race to Dubai last month.

  But McIlroy knows his slip-up at the U.S. Open is what will stand out from his campaign. 

  He had a comfortable lead at eight-under, but three bogeys allowed DeChambeau to win by a single shot. McIlroy took time away from the sport in the wake of the tournament.

  "It's hard because, on one hand, I sit here, and I'm proud of what I've done this year, but then, on the other hand, I sit here, and I am disappointed because of the ones I've let get away," McIlroy said. 

  "I'd say it was a combination of everything. I wouldn't say it's specifically the putts. I wouldn't say it's specifically the club choices - I think it's a combination.

  "The putt on 16 was probably the one that I'll look back on most that I'll regret. But I think if I had made par on 15, do I miss that putt on 16? Also, with the last few holes and with the way Pinehurst flows, I was waiting for Bryson to hit his shots.

  "You're very aware of what's happening behind you and I needed to do a better job of trying to block that out and I didn't. It's hard enough just having to concentrate on yourself and focus on what you're doing.

  "Whenever your attention is taken away by focusing and looking at what your competitor does, it makes it even more difficult," he added. 

• Rory McIlroy looks ahead to 2025 and 'unfinished business' with Portrush

  Rory McIlroy is already looking ahead to 2025 and the "unfinished business" he has at Royal Portrush.

  The past year has been up and down for the four-time major winner, who won the DP World Tour's Dubai Desert Classic, DP World Championship, Zurich Classic and Wells Fargo Championship and recorded seven top-10 finishes.

  But he suffered heartbreak at the U.S. Open where he led by two with four to play before bogeying three of the final four holes at Pinehurst No.2, as Bryson DeChambeau claimed a second major title.

  McIlroy has not won a major for over 10 years and in July will return to his home course at Portrush for the 153rd Open, where he missed the cut back in 2019.

  The 35-year-old, speaking to Sky Sports, addressed what is to come next year, including the return to Portrush.

  "I love that we're playing the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow in May, which is typically when we played the Wells Fargo," McIlroy said. 

  "It's when I know the golf course the best and I know that it's going to play, you know, the characteristics.

  "I can't wait to go back to Portrush, because I feel like I've got some unfinished business there from last time, and we'll obviously go back to Augusta for The Masters.

  "I think the one thing that probably won't get enough credit, because I've not won the US Open, is that I feel like I've become such a such a better player at US Open venues.

  "So 2016, when we last played at Oakmont, where the US Open is, I missed the cut. I missed the cut in 2017 at the US Open and I missed the cut of 2018 in the US Open, but since then I've made a real effort to try to change what I did and how I approached playing that championship.

  "From 2019 all the way through to this year in 2024, I feel like I've had a chance to win the US Open every Sunday that I've played there since, so I'm really proud of that. I'm looking forward to going back to a golf course that I struggled at before to see if I can figure it out."

• Russell hits back at 'bully' Verstappen as Qatar row escalates

  George Russell said "someone needs to stand up a bully like this" as his ugly row with Max Verstappen from the Qatar Grand Prix escalated.

  Red Bull driver Verstappen qualified fastest in Qatar but was later demoted a spot after being given a rare grid penalty for driving unnecessarily slowly and impeding Mercedes' Russell in qualifying.

  Four-time world champion Verstappen later said he had "lost all respect" for the British driver, accusing Russell of essentially setting out to earn him a demotion in the stewards room.

  Russell has now reacted to the explosive comments in an interview with Sky Sports ahead of the season-ending Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi and accused the Dutchman of threatening to intentionally crash into him in an X-rated retort.

  "What he was doing was pretty clear. He was going too slow. He was on the racing line, and we all had the rules to follow, and he didn't follow it," Russel began. 

  "I find his comments pretty ironic when he comes out and says 'I'm going to purposely crash into you, I'm going to put you on your f****** head in the wall'.

  "For me, that is unacceptable, and he's gone beyond the line here, and I'm not going to accept it.

  "So somebody's got to stand up to a guy like this before it gets out of control."

  Verstappen is reported to have denied the allegation to the Dutch media.

  Russell added when asked what further steps he would want to take: "I don't want to go to the stewards' office.

  "I had no intention of bringing this up. He said this to me on Saturday night and I woke up on Sunday morning feeling fine. But to come out of those press interviews saying that I'm two-faced, I'm the f-word, and this and that, he's taking this personal.

  "What happens on track is professional, what happens in the stewards' is professional, and like Carlos [Sainz] said to him on Sunday morning, 'you would have done the exact same thing'.

  "On Sunday in the race he lifted for a yellow, Lando [Norris, who received a penalty which took him out of the fight for the race victory] doesn't lift for a yellow, and he says to the team 'check what Lando does'.

  "That's not personal against Lando, that is just racing.  I've known Max for 12 years. I respected him all this time, but now I have lost respect for him. We are all fighting on track, and it's never personal," he added.

  "Now he's made it personal and someone needs to stand up to a bully like this - and so far people are letting him get away with murder."