Rory McIlroy famously described himself as a “wily old veteran” when building his historic 36-hole lead at the Masters en route to winning a second successive green jacket and that’s exactly what he has to be to cope with the Shinnecock Hills test at the US Open.
The six-time major winner believes he has become a better US Open player despite not clinching golf’s toughest major championship since 2011, and even that was not on a quintessential ‘make everybody mental’ set up as he bullied a soggy Congressional into submission rather than being driven bonkers.
Indeed from 2012 to 2018 McIlroy had one top-10 and missed three successive cuts in the US Open before a change to a more patient and strategic approach where booming drives were replaced by 30-foot stingers saw him record finishes of 9th, 8th, 7th, 5th, 2nd and 2nd before a T19 last year.
Outside of the Masters, this has become McIlroy’s best major despite not getting over the line for the second time.
The big question around McIlroy at Shinnecock this week is how many fairways can he find. He was second last in driving accuracy at the Masters but that caught up with him at the PGA Championship where he was fourth last but still managed to contend for a third title. At the Memorial he was left searching as marginal misses were punished heavily.
But the fairways at Shinnecock Hills are wide. Not just by US Open standards but by upper echelon PGA Tour event standards. The pressure may be somewhat relieved from the big stick for the Holywood man – although beware of 5-inch rough close to the fairways if you do go wayward.
It’s around the greens where this US Open will be won and lost hence where the carnage begins. Good shots will be given the two fingered salute by the sandy based almost links style terrain and the ball will bundle down gulleys and slopes and leave players bemused. Add to this the windy forecast which will dry out the greens which have already been heavily watered to avoid a repeat of 2004 which remains the benchmark for the USGA losing the golf course.
McIlroy no longer needs to go out and mince meat drives of 340 plus to beat down a golf course. The driver that JP Fitzgerald once encouraged him to hit everywhere no matter what has been curtailed slightly. There is an irony in that McIlroy missed the cut at Shinnecock Hills in 2018 with a game that was just nowhere near competing for a US Open title on any set up, now he arrives with a well rounded game tailored to stand up to the toughest of tests.
His wedges have improved drastically, his chipping which commentators say is “underrated” is arguably the best in the world and he has become a very reliable putter since bringing in putting guru Brad Faxon.
It’s been hard to gauge where McIlroy is at this year but it can certainly be argued that his short game now outranks his long game which is something that seemed impossible to foresee a decade ago but has been reflected in his major championship results post Covid, especially at this year’s Masters.
Mentality and short game are two of McIlroy’s strengths which makes him tailor-made for a US Open test and one so mentally challenging as Shinnecock Hills.
An opening 80 which he slumped to here eight years ago seems unfathomable, but despite that he won’t be lured into taking unnecessary risks.
“I think if everything is going the way everyone wants it in terms of weather, setup, I think it’s the best championship test in the country,” the 37-year-old said of Shinnecock Hills.
“I think it tests all aspects of the game: driving, iron play, and you need to have your wits about you on the greens. It’s a lot of strategy and thoughtfulness.
The bushy mop of curly hair has become shorter, tighter and heavily tinged with grey. McIlroy has evolved into the wily old veteran and that has helped him rediscover his Major mojo and makes him the perfect US Open player.
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