Rory McIlroy’s mental fortitude and physical shot-making combined to enable a stout opening round of one-under-par 69 for the Northern Irishman in this 126th edition of the US Open on the northern shore of Long Island in New York, a decent day’s work in conditions which played with the minds of many others, among them defending champion JJ Spaun.
A stubborn morning fog hung around to cause a two-hour suspension in play, and a stiff southerly wind blew throughout the day to have players and caddies second-guessing club selections in the difficult conditions. At least the USGA had the sense to merely roll greens rather than mow them in order to keep stimpmeter speeds in the mid-10s while also syringing the putting surfaces with water to ensure playability.
Even so, there were incidents of moving and oscillating balls on greens which only served to underscore the prudent approach in how the course was set-up and especially so given the fog delay that meant a spillover of the first round play into Friday with Shane Lowry among those later starters.
The fog wasn’t the only stubborn entity. McIlroy too demonstrated such a streak, sticking to the task at hand with patience and some fine shot execution until two closing bogeys took a bit of the gloss off the end product.
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“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,” said McIlroy, referring to an opening round 80 in missing the cut back in 2018. “I went out with the mindset that pars were going to be good, and if you could pick up a couple of birdies here and there, that’s always a bonus. But really it was about minimising the mistakes. I did that for the most part today.
The high point of his round came on the Par 5 fifth hole, his 14th, where McIlroy’s response to hitting a pitching wedge approach downwind from 194 yards to 18 feet was to roll up his sleeves, remove his glove and, smiling, accept the putter from caddie Harry Diamond for the eagle putt that awaited.
McIlroy successfully converted the putt for an eagle three which leapfrogged him over Sam Stevens to the top of the leader board until a bogey on his penultimate hole dropped him back into a share and then another bogey – caused by missing the green left and failing to get up and down, his scrambling statistics of two for six showing up that part of his game – on the ninth, his closing hole, saw him ultimately slip one behind the American.
“It’s so tough, so difficult. I didn’t feel like I hit two bad iron shots on the last two holes [but] put myself in pretty difficult spots and wasn’t able to get it up-and-down. Overall, a really good day,” insisted McIlroy.
Still, when the sums were done, the numbers for McIlroy totted up to a 69, far from a disaster and a score that positioned the world number two nicely in contention headed into the next three rounds when conditions are generally expected to be less challenging.
There were tougher times for two other Irish players, as Graeme McDowell – who started birdie-birdie – fell victim to the course thereafter in shooting a 76, while Pádraig Harrington failed to muster a birdie and signed for a 77. “You could get the wrong gusts at the wrong time, for sure, but that’s golf,” said Harrington, at 54, the oldest player in the field.
Scottie Scheffler, the world number one and a US Open win away from completing the career Grand Slam, struggled with some facets of his game – primarily in judging his iron approach shots but also in adjusting to the slower greens – but stuck gamely to the task to ultimately sign for a 72.
However, last year’s champion Spaun struggled in opening his defence with a 77 – failing to find a birdie and finishing with a double-bogey six on 18 – with an uphill fight to survive the cut, while Brooks Koepka, winner in 2018 on its last staging here, signed for a 73.
Stevens, without a top-10 on tour since the Houston Open in April and playing for the first time since a missed cut at the Memorial, returned to form with a display of patience exemplified by what he called a “weird start” in opening with a double-bogey six on the 10th (his first) to finish with a birdie on the ninth, his closing hole, for a 68.
The 29-year-old American, who has yet to win on the PGA Tour, had hit his tee shot on the 10th when the fog horn was blown to suspend play with the flagstick on the green invisible to the players at that point. His return after the two hours delay was to hit his wedge 60 yards, into rough, in running up a double-bogey. Thereafter, though, Stevens recovered to navigate his way to the clubhouse lead with that closing birdie.
Did it come as a surprise, given his recent form?
“I wouldn’t say I’m surprised. It’s a long season. I played a lot the first half of the season. It’s easy to get worn down a little bit, and I just haven’t been as on top of keeping a good attitude as I should have been, just maybe having a little too high expectations.
“Then the moment that those expectations aren’t met, being a little more upset than I need to be. I got a week at home last week and just kind of focusing on trying to stay positive and kind of enjoy playing a little more,” said Stevens of resetting that attitude.
