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SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. – Despite bogeys at his last two holes of the day, Rory McIlroy was pleased to be in the clubhouse with an opening-round 1-under-par 69 at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on Thursday at the 126th U.S. Open.
“I think with the conditions today, anything under par or anything around even par is a good score,” the world No. 2 and reigning Masters champion said. “It was a day to really just keep yourself in the tournament and not shoot yourself out of it, which is exactly what I did eight years ago here.”
That was a reference to an opening-round 78 when, as he put it, he was blown away by the wind. Speaking to Golfweek, McIlroy recalled standing on the 14th tee in 2018 during the first round and the wind was whipping off the left.
“I remember being like I can’t aim far enough left to hit the fairway,” he said. “I wasn’t driving the ball particularly well at the time. I have a few more shots in the quiver to piece it together when I’m not feeling great. I have that low bullet I like to hit where I stand a little closer to the ball so I’m a little more upright. It’s become a dependable shot."
More: U.S. Open hub: Scores, stories, video and more
After McIlroy missed the 36-hole cut in 2018, he headed to the Travelers Championship, where he remembers feeling in his comfort zone going to TPC River Highlands. The 2012 U.S. Open champ came to the following realization: “I've got this backwards,” he said. “I should be in my comfort zone at Shinnecock and not here.”
At the end of the 2018 season when he was flying back from Dubai, McIlroy wrote in his diary that going forward he would build his game to compete at the major championships and excel at the toughest tests. What did he work on? “The things that you need to do well to excel at (majors), which is flighting the ball, hitting your numbers, wedge play, short game, putting, which is all the stuff that I feel like I've improved over the last few years,” he said.
More: 2026 U.S. Open leaderboard, live updates at windy Shinnecock
And the first round was a fine example of the strides he has made in his game since flaming out at the U.S. Open the last time it was played at Shinnecock. He’s recorded 18 top 10s at majors, including the two Green Jackets, in the last 31 majors.
On Thursday, McIlroy started on the back nine and birdied Nos. 11 and 12 to get into red figures before making bogeys at 13 and 16.
He spun a wedge to a couple of feet at the par-4 third for an easy birdie and then, after spraying his tee shot into the hay at the fourth, his second shot bounced off the cart path and when it came to rest, a fan bent over and tried to pick it up.
But McIlroy salvaged par and after bashing a 396-yard drive at the fifth, wedging from 190 yards to 11 feet, he drilled the eagle putt to move to 3 under overall and held the solo lead. But he bogeyed Nos. 8 and 9 to settle for 69.
“It's so tough. It's so difficult. I didn't feel like I hit two bad iron shots on the last two holes and put myself in pretty difficult spots and wasn't able to get it up-and-down, but overall a really good day,” he said. “It's a challenging golf course already, and you put 30-mile-an-hour winds on top of it, it tests the best players in the world pretty well.”
Adam Schupak is a senior writer for Golfweek, covering the PGA Tour.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Rory McIlroy finds comfort at Shinnecock Hills
Continue reading...
“I think with the conditions today, anything under par or anything around even par is a good score,” the world No. 2 and reigning Masters champion said. “It was a day to really just keep yourself in the tournament and not shoot yourself out of it, which is exactly what I did eight years ago here.”
That was a reference to an opening-round 78 when, as he put it, he was blown away by the wind. Speaking to Golfweek, McIlroy recalled standing on the 14th tee in 2018 during the first round and the wind was whipping off the left.
“I remember being like I can’t aim far enough left to hit the fairway,” he said. “I wasn’t driving the ball particularly well at the time. I have a few more shots in the quiver to piece it together when I’m not feeling great. I have that low bullet I like to hit where I stand a little closer to the ball so I’m a little more upright. It’s become a dependable shot."
More: U.S. Open hub: Scores, stories, video and more
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After McIlroy missed the 36-hole cut in 2018, he headed to the Travelers Championship, where he remembers feeling in his comfort zone going to TPC River Highlands. The 2012 U.S. Open champ came to the following realization: “I've got this backwards,” he said. “I should be in my comfort zone at Shinnecock and not here.”
At the end of the 2018 season when he was flying back from Dubai, McIlroy wrote in his diary that going forward he would build his game to compete at the major championships and excel at the toughest tests. What did he work on? “The things that you need to do well to excel at (majors), which is flighting the ball, hitting your numbers, wedge play, short game, putting, which is all the stuff that I feel like I've improved over the last few years,” he said.
More: 2026 U.S. Open leaderboard, live updates at windy Shinnecock
And the first round was a fine example of the strides he has made in his game since flaming out at the U.S. Open the last time it was played at Shinnecock. He’s recorded 18 top 10s at majors, including the two Green Jackets, in the last 31 majors.
On Thursday, McIlroy started on the back nine and birdied Nos. 11 and 12 to get into red figures before making bogeys at 13 and 16.
You must be registered for see images
He spun a wedge to a couple of feet at the par-4 third for an easy birdie and then, after spraying his tee shot into the hay at the fourth, his second shot bounced off the cart path and when it came to rest, a fan bent over and tried to pick it up.
But McIlroy salvaged par and after bashing a 396-yard drive at the fifth, wedging from 190 yards to 11 feet, he drilled the eagle putt to move to 3 under overall and held the solo lead. But he bogeyed Nos. 8 and 9 to settle for 69.
“It's so tough. It's so difficult. I didn't feel like I hit two bad iron shots on the last two holes and put myself in pretty difficult spots and wasn't able to get it up-and-down, but overall a really good day,” he said. “It's a challenging golf course already, and you put 30-mile-an-hour winds on top of it, it tests the best players in the world pretty well.”
Adam Schupak is a senior writer for Golfweek, covering the PGA Tour.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Rory McIlroy finds comfort at Shinnecock Hills
Continue reading...
