Rory McIlroy has already scouted the upcoming US Open course as he aims to claim another major title. The 37-year-old is set to tee off at Shinnecock Hills later this month and recently repeated his tactic of getting an early look at the venue.
McIlroy secured the sixth major championship of his career in April as he successfully defended the Masters at Augusta. The Northern Irishman finished one stroke ahead of Scottie Scheffler but his preparation divided opinion.
After tweaking his back, McIlroy had spent almost a month out of competition ahead of the tournament. However, he also spent part of his lay-off practising at Augusta, sparking debate over the fairness of his preparation.
“It gave me the opportunity to go up to Augusta and prepare maybe more than anyone else in the field,” McIlroy told the New Heights podcast last month. “Which I actually got a bit a little bit of s*** for afterward, which was weird.”
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Despite the backlash, McIlroy has adopted a similar strategy ahead of the US Open. He recently revealed that he headed to Shinnecock Hills earlier this week, which last hosted the major in 2018.
“The fairways are very generous. They’re more generous than they were in 2018 but the first cut of rough is five inches long,” McIlroy said of his time at Shinnecock Hills. “The greens are rolling around 11, 11.2 [anything over 12 is considered fast and last year’s US Open at Oakmont was between 13 and 14], something like that and I really don’t think they need to get much faster.
“I think if they can keep them at that speed they can get them firm and use the hole locations that they want to use without having some of the struggles that they have had the last couple of US Opens.”
McIlroy is currently competing at the Memorial Tournament in Ohio but has been selective about the events he has entered this year. Following his injury-hampered effort at the Players Championship in March, McIlroy skipped several events on the PGA Tour ahead of starting his Masters title defence.
After earning another Green Jacket, the six-time major winner only entered the Truist Championship before the PGA Championship in May. He has continued to follow a more relaxed schedule, with the Memorial Tournament marking his only event before the US Open, and has defended his decision.
View 2 ImagesMcIlroy is currently competing at the Memorial Tournament(Image: Jason Mowry/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
“I’ve been doing this a long time. I’ve been on tour more than half of my life at this point,” McIlroy explained. “So I’ll pick and choose my spots like I have been doing sort of the last 18 months to two years.
“Does it mean it makes it harder for myself to win the FedEx Cup or whatever the season-long title race is going to be called? Absolutely. But I’m OK with that because it brings balance to my life and lets me enjoy things outside of the game.”
The Memorial Tournament has seen McIlroy return to action after opting to skip the CJ Cup Byron Nelson and the Charles Schwab Challenge. He currently shares 19th place on one over par after two rounds.
JT Poston is leading by one stroke on nine-under at the halfway stage of the event. The winner will receive the £3million top prize.
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