OAKMONT, Pa. — Rory McIlroy’s reconnaissance mission to Oakmont Country Club last week didn’t go so well.
At least it gave the Masters champion a sense for what is in store when the U.S. Open begins on Thursday, even if he believes some of the conditions he faced in a practice round were more severe than he will see during the tournament.
“Last Monday felt impossible. I birdied the last two holes for 81,” McIlroy said of his June 2 practice round. “It felt pretty good. It didn’t feel like I played that bad.
“It’s much more benign right now than it was that Monday. They had the pins in dicey locations, and greens were running at 15½ [on the Stimpmeter used to measure green speeds]. It was nearly impossible.
“This morning it was a little softer. The pins aren’t going to be on 3 or 4 percent slopes all the time. If you put it in the fairway, it’s certainly playable. But then you just have to think about leaving your ball below the hole and just trying to make as many pars as you can. You get yourself in the way of a few birdies, that’s a bonus.”
Oakmont’s reputation is well-founded. It typically presents one of the sternest tests in U.S. Open golf. Dustin Johnson, who won in 2016, was one of only four players to finish under par. He shot 276, 4 under, and three other players finished at 1 under.
Making the quest for a second U.S. Open more difficult for McIlroy is his recent driver problems that began at the PGA Championship where pre-tournament testing showed it to be non-conforming.
That meant McIlroy had to go to a backup driver and he switched clubs again after missing the club last weekend after missing the cut at the RBC Canadian Open—his first missed cut since the 2024 British Open.
That situation led to plenty of consternation in recent weeks. Finding a backup can sometimes be difficult, although McIlroy noted Tuesday that Scottie Scheffler’s driver was also deemed non-conforming and he went on to win the tournament.
“It wasn’t a big deal for Scottie, so it shouldn’t have been a big deal for me,” McIlroy said.
McIlroy would only say that he has a different TaylorMade driver in his bag this week.
For all the driver talk, McIlroy wasn’t driving the ball great at the Players Championship, where he won. And he had his moments at the Masters, too.
“You can play recovery golf at the Players,” McIlroy said. “This place won't let you do that. You've got to chop it out and then just try to make a par with a wedge in your hand.
“I felt like I drove the ball O.K. at Augusta, but again, it’s a recovery golf course. You hit it offline, you can find gaps in trees and you can do something with it. You miss a fairway here, you can’t really do anything with it unless you’re in the middle of a fairway bunker and you can get something over the lip.
“Much more penal if you do miss it, and hopefully—I feel a little better with the driver over the weekend at home and even today playing a practice round, so hopefully I can hit a few more fairways than I have been hitting and give myself some opportunities.”
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Rory McIlroy Says He Shot 81 at Oakmont Last Week.
