The last time Rory McIlroy played an opening round at Shinnecock Hills, it was a house of horrors, with his 10-over 80 at the 2018 U.S. Open matching the highest score of his PGA TOUR career.
It's safe to say the six-time major winner did his homework in advance of this year's event, as his 1-under 69 in Thursday's first round leaves him in excellent shape.
While McIlroy's three birdies and one eagle - his first at the U.S. Open since 2017 - got plenty of attention, it was his bogey avoidance that proved the biggest difference from his dismal day at Shinnecock eight years ago.
| Stat | 2018 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 80 (+10) | 69 (-1) |
| Position | T-128 | Currently T-2 |
| Birdies or better | 3 | 4 |
| Bogeys or worse | 10 | 4 |
McIlroy's last appearance at Shinnecock marked his third straight missed cut at the U.S. Open and a turning point in his career, as the Northern Irishman has been a dominant force at the tournament ever since.
"I think the big thing was I needed to change my mindset," McIlroy said after Thursday's round. "I've told this story before, but I played those two days in 2018 and then I got to the Travelers the next week. I remember like feeling so much in my comfort zone going to TPC River Highlands and thinking to myself, 'I've got this backwards. I should be in my comfort zone at Shinnecock and not here.'"
Since 2018, McIlroy's results at the U.S. Open - six top-10 finishes in seven starts - have largely mirrored the performance he put forth Thursday. He attributed the turnaround to a change in focus, which he documented in his journal years ago.
"I wrote in it that, from 2019 going forward, I'm going to build my game to compete at the major championships and excel at the toughest tests that we have," McIlroy said. "Working on the things that you need to do well to excel at these, which is flighting the ball, hitting your numbers, wedge play, short game, putting, which is all the stuff that I feel like I've improved over the last few years."
His ability to flight the ball properly and lean on his short-game prowess was on full display during a windswept day at Shinnecock. Gusts reaching 30 mph caused McIlroy to lose his hat on multiple occasions.
He held the top spot for the majority of his round, but two late bogeys saw him fall from solo first to one shot back of Sam Stevens' clubhouse lead.
"It's so tough. It's so difficult," McIlroy said of the conditions. "I hit two bad iron shots on the last two holes and put myself in pretty difficult spots and wasn't able to get it up-and-down, but overall a really good day."
