OAKMONT, Pa. – When USGA officials set up Oakmont for Round 3 on Saturday morning, a new tee marker on the 17th was on the to-do list.
Rory McIlroy smashed a marker late Friday in anger as he grinded his way to the finish of his second round, which was ultimately successful in terms of making the cut but not what he was hoping for at the season's third major.
The Masters champion birdied two of his last four holes to get to 6 over, one shot inside the cut line which fell at 7 over. Major champions Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson and Justin Thomas did not make it to the weekend, but McIlroy did.
But the rally wasn't without frustration. At the 305-yard par-4 17th, a drivable par-4 where pros expected to have good chance for birdie, McIlroy flared his tee shot to the right and subsequently took it out a tee marker. Here's how it looked:
Chubby Rory would’ve never smashed that tee box into a million pieces at a Major Championship pic.twitter.com/iISEdaKuEL
— Jim Nantz’ big toe (@TimRantz) June 13, 2025
And that wasn’t the only moment of frustration for the world No. 2 on the back nine. He also failed to birdie the par-5 12th and tossed his iron after his second shot landed in the rough.
This is a great angle of Rory’s club throw yesterday at the US Open. All out. 10/10 execution.
— Flushing It (@flushingitgolf) June 14, 2025
pic.twitter.com/VqYl18cHun
Facing the media before the start of the U.S. Open, he was frank about where his mind was after completing the Grand Slam quest.
“I'm sort of just taking it tournament by tournament at this point,” McIlroy said. “Then just trying to find the motivation to go back out there and work as hard as I've been working.
“I worked incredibly hard on my game from October last year all the way up until April this year. It was nice to sort of see the fruits of my labor come to fruition and have everything happen.
“But at the same time, you have to enjoy that. You have to enjoy what you've just accomplished. I certainly feel like I'm still doing that and I will continue to do that.”
McIlroy declined to speak to reporters Friday after a round that didn’t appear to be very enjoyable, yet got him through to the weekend at the 125th U.S. Open.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Rory McIlroy Smashes Tee Marker in Frustration During U.S. Open.
