A dismal back nine was Rory McIlroy’s undoing as he got off to a slow start at the US Open on Thursday, opening his Oakmont campaign with a +4 finish.
His score sat at a competitive -2 come the end of the front nine, but a run of four bogeys and one double-bogey in the second half of the round left him facing a day two recovery mission.
He had publicly admitted to struggling in his practice rounds ahead of the Open, citing ‘impossible’ pin placements, and continued to flounder as the tournament got underway.
His form has been generally poor since completing a career Grand Slam by winning the Masters in April, a title he had pursued for 11 years. He failed to make the cut at last week’s Canada Masters, saying he is struggling for motivation after achieving the goal he has been chasing for so much of his career.
Evidently, the prospect of ending his 14-year wait for a second US Open crown was not inspiration enough as he squandered a strong start with a dreadful back nine.
Teeing off early in the day from hole 10, he was immediately on form, smacking a 392-yard drive to start his round on the right foot.
His swaggering confidence was evident as he sank a 27-yard birdie putt on 11, benefiting from playing partner Justin Rose’s previous miss, before dropping another stroke with a birdie on 12 to take a brief lead in the tournament. A run of six straight pars followed, leaving McIlroy’s score a respectable -2 at the turn.
There were some grim moments of foreshadowing as he missed birdie putts on holes 17 and 18, after which his round quickly unravelled.
He opened the back nine with a bogey on hole one, doing the same at four, six, and seven.
The 301-yard hole eight, the longest par three in major championship history, bore his worst result of the afternoon. A wayward tee shot left him in the notorious rough to the left of the green, requiring a multi-shot recovery and resulting in a double-bogey.
He closed a forgettable round with par, but that will be scant consolation for the Northern Irishman, who signed at 74.
McIlroy’s score was far from the worst in his group, though. Rose also struggled, holing out at +7, while Shane Lowry completed the group with a forgettable +9.
World No25 JJ Spaun, who lost to McIlroy in a playoff at The Players Championship in March, was an unlikely leader at -4 as the unhappy British trio checked back into the clubhouse.
This was the 34-year-old American's first outing at Oakmont, which left him feeling nervous.
"All you've been hearing is how hard this place is, and it's hard to not hear the noise and see what's on social media," he said.
"You're just kind of only hearing about how hard this course is.
"I was actually pretty nervous. But I actually tried to harness that, the nerves, the anxiety, because it kind of heightens my focus, makes me swing better, I guess.
"I just tried to kind of take what the course gave me. I hit a lot of good shots and tried to capitalise on any birdie opportunities, which aren't very many out here.
"But I scrambled really well, too, which is a huge component to playing well at a US Open, let alone shoot a bogey-free round.
"I'm just overly pleased with how I started the tournament."
McIlroy was not alone in struggling as defending champion Bryson DeChambeau was three over while world number three Xander Schauffele was two over.
Unfortunately for amateur Matt Vogt, who is a dentist by trade, it was like pulling teeth.
The 34-year-old, who made it through qualification, used to caddie at Oakmont but that did not help much as he carded a 12-over-par 82 and will be back in the dental practice next week.
Additional reporting: PA
