Rory McIlroy gets ready for the U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club. He focuses on overcoming previous obstacles and maximizing his recent practices to their fullest. After missing the recent cut in Canada, McIlroy made the move to firm up his game. This week, he’s particularly intent on fine-tuning his skills with one particular club that gives him a confidence-boosting advantage.
On Tuesday morning, McIlroy was one of the first players out on the course. He trained with 2019 Open winner Shane Lowry. He dedicated significant time on the driving range, working to refine his swing and approach ahead of this year’s major championship. This implementation comes on the heels of a challenging 3 years at the U.S. Open between 2016-2018. In spite of those years, he actually missed three straight cuts.
McIlroy’s decision to change and grow as a golfer shines through in his approach to Oakmont. He experienced his own set of misfortune at last month’s PGA Championship at Quail Hollow when his driver was ruled nonconforming. In an effort to adjust, he made the switch to a shorter driver and head last week playtesting the new configuration at the RBC Heritage.
Last week, on a scouting mission at Oakmont, McIlroy posted a disaster 81—including two back nine birdies in his last three holes. Even with this score, he communicated that it sure didn’t feel like a three-star showing in total.
“I birdied the last two holes for 81. It felt pretty good. It didn’t feel like I played that bad,” – Rory McIlroy
In the second round of that outing, he struggled more significantly, hitting only 42% of fairways and finishing with an 8-over 80. The environment this week is a lot more forgiving, with more than an inch of rain softening the ground and providing relief.
“It was a little softer. The pins aren’t going to be on 3 or 4 percent slopes all the time,” – Rory McIlroy
Rory’s recent history at the U.S. Open makes it hard to overlook the seriousness with which he is approaching his recent preparation. He’s recorded six straight top-10 finishes in the tournament. Over the last two seasons, none have performed more convincingly than Bowman, who has remarkably posted consecutive runner-up finishes. As a five-time major champion and defending Masters champion, the bar was already set high.
He plans to go back to last year’s TaylorMade driver model for this Masters. He’ll employ the same approach that worked for him at the Masters. According to data from PGA Tour, most notably, he’s second in strokes gained off the tee on the PGA Tour this season.
Given Oakmont’s brutal layout, McIlroy knows how crucial it is to be precise with the driver. He did stress that successful play on this brutally difficult course translates to the need to keep the ball in the fairway – literally.
“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,” – Rory McIlroy
The course has only gotten tougher, with salmon fleeing upstream in the current raging tension of tournament waters. Indeed, at the 2016 U.S. Open, only four players finished under par. Rory McIlroy’s reflections on the course setup at the Ryder Cup demonstrate a shrewd mentality and set the stage for what to expect down the road.
“If 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,” – Rory McIlroy
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