Rory McIlroy’s US Open calamity joins ranks of sport’s greatest collapses

Rory McIlroy’s painful near-miss at Pinehurst on Sunday pushed the Northern Irishman alongside the likes of Jean van de Velde and Greg Norman in blowing a major lead in golf. But what about the wider world of sport? What are the most famous all-time sporting collapses?

Newcastle United, Premier League title race 1996

“I’ve kept really quiet, but I’ll tell you something, he went down in my estimation when he said that. We have not resorted to that, but I’ll tell you, you can tell him now if you’re watching it, we’re still fighting for this title, and he’s got to go to Middlesbrough and get something, and... and... I’ll tell you, honestly, I will love it if we beat them, LOVE IT!” Kevin Keegan’s famous rant, live on Sky Sports, at rival manager Sir Alex Ferguson, back in 1995, remains one of the most famous moments in Premier League history. Newcastle enjoyed a 12-point lead at one stage that season, only for Fergie’s ‘kids’ to overhaul them.

Devon Loch, 1956 Grand National

“Devon Loch can’t lose!” Arguably the most famous belly flop in sports history, the Queen Mother-owned Devon Loch was five lengths clear with less than 50 yards to run in the 1956 Grand National, having successfully negotiated all 30 fences, only to perform a bizarre leap over a ‘phantom fence’ and land on his belly. Jockey Dick Francis tried in vain to recover, and ESB galloped through for an unlikely triumph. The Queen Mother’s reaction was typically philosophical. “Ah well, that’s racing,” she said.

Laurent Fignon, 1989 Tour de France

Primoz Roglic’s dramatic dethroning at the 2020 Tour de France, surrendering the yellow jersey to his compatriot Tadej Pogacar on La Planche des Belles Filles in the penultimate day time trial, was stunning. But nothing compares to Laurent Fignon’s defeat by Greg LeMond in the final day time trial in 1989. The Frenchman enjoyed a 50-second lead over rival Greg LeMond heading into the relatively short 24.5km effort against the clock, and French newspapers had already prepared special editions, with Fignon’s picture on the front page, in preparation for his victory. LeMond ended up overhauling him by eight seconds, the smallest winning margin in Tour history. Fignon had already won the race twice but admitted later that he never got over the defeat. “You never stop grieving over an event like that,” he wrote in his autobiography.

Emirates Team New Zealand, 2013 America’s Cup

From 8-1 up in the first-to-nine series, the Kiwis contrived to lose eight races in a row as Oracle Team USA, with Sir Ben Ainslie on board as tactician, came back to triumph 9-8 in San Francisco. New Zealand did suffer horrendous luck during that run of defeats, running out of wind and time in race 13 when they had a lead of roughly one kilometre. But this went down as a massive choke for New Zealand and their skipper Dean Barker who never really recovered.

Jana Novotna, 1993 Wimbledon

Arguably the most memorable meltdown on Centre Court, if only for the post-match images of Novotna crying into the Duchess of Kent’s shoulder during the presentation ceremony. The Czech player had been a point away from taking a 5-1 lead in the final set of the 1993 against Steffi Graf, but froze dramatically with victory within her grasp, double faulting, then getting broken, then losing the next four games as she completely imploded. Happily, she came back to take the 1998 title.

New York Yankees, 2004 American League Championship Series

American sport is littered with famous chokes/collapses but the Yankees losing baseball’s American League Championship Series to bitter rivals Boston Red Sox in 2004 takes some beating. The Yankees were 3-0 up in the best-of-seven series and closing in on the World Series when Boston levelled at the bottom of the ninth, won the game, and then proceeded to win the next three as well. Boston would go on to win their first World Series for 86 years, sweeping the St Louis Cardinals to lift the so-called Curse of the Bambino (which had hung around since team owner Harry Frazee sold the great Babe Ruth to the Yankees in 1920).

Have we missed any? Please let us know your nominations in the comments below