Rory McIlroy was pleased for 2022 BMW PGA Championship winner Shane Lowry despite finishing narrowly behind his close friend on a thrilling final day.
Shortly after Lowry had birdied the last to take the outright lead on 17 under par, McIlroy found himself needing to eagle the 18th to force a play-off.
But his 23-foot effort just stayed above ground, meaning he had to settle for a share of second place alongside Jon Rahm on 16 under.
McIlroy made an eagle, four birdies and a solitary bogey in his closing 67 as his fine form continued.
Lowry had come second behind McIlroy when he won the 2014 edition of this event as well as enjoying plenty of other strong finishes at Wentworth Club over the years.
McIlroy said: "I felt I needed to get to 18 under to have a chance to win, so I came up a couple short of my target.
"I really needed that to win outright but obviously I was just hoping for a play-off with Shane, but really happy for him.
"He's had a lot of close calls here. Finished second to me when I won in 2014 and he's got me back today.
"He's been knocking on the door for a while. He's played a lot of good golf this year without actually getting over the line.
"So really, really happy for him. We've become incredibly close over the last couple of years, and yeah, good to see."
After three opening pars, McIlroy eagled the fourth to get to 13 under before dropping his only shot of the day at the eighth.
Birdies on the tenth, 12th and 15th gave McIlroy hope but he could not make further progress until the last, where his tap-in birdie was not enough to catch Lowry.
"I struggled today," added McIlroy, who leads the DP World Tour Rankings in Partnership with Rolex. "I didn't hit my irons very well.
"I was scrambling quite a lot. But I got the most out of my round.
"I sort of dug in there and did what I needed to do to give myself a chance going down 18.
"Overall, another good week. I keep putting myself in these positions and that's all you can ask for."
