The return of Rory McIlroy to Shinnecock Hills, eight years after being literally “swept” by the wind and eliminated prematurely, culminated in a surprising 69 (-1) in the opening round of the U.S. Open, leaving everyone questioning whether he has finally found the recipe to tame one of the most treacherous courses on the planet. The reigning Masters champion, now ranked number 2 in the world, displayed nerves of steel in adverse weather conditions and with a fresh memory of the humiliation suffered in 2018.
On Thursday, McIlroy started on the back nine and quickly stood out with consecutive birdies on holes 11 and 12. Despite bogeys on 13 and 16, he remained steady, demonstrating the solidity he has worked so hard to achieve in recent years. The highlight of the day came on hole 5, where, after a colossal 396-yard drive, he sank an 11-foot eagle putt, temporarily taking the solo lead in the tournament. However, bogeys on his last two holes forced him to settle for a 69, still an excellent result given his personal history and the gusty winds prevailing in Southampton, New York.
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This achievement becomes even more significant when we recall McIlroy’s collapse in the 2018 edition, when he signed for a disastrous 78 in his debut at Shinnecock Hills, missing the cut after 36 holes. The golfer himself admitted to feeling “swept away” by the conditions at the time, confessing to Golfweek: “I remember being on the tee at 14 in 2018 and the wind was coming from the left so hard that I didn’t know where to aim anymore.” He added: “At that time, I wasn’t driving the ball particularly well. Now I have more solutions up my sleeve for when I’m not feeling fantastic. I developed that ‘low bullet’ that I love, where I get closer to the ball and more vertical. It’s a shot I trust.”
The impact of this change is visible in the Northern Irishman’s consistency on the big stages: since then, he has achieved 18 top-10 finishes in majors, including two victories at the Masters, in a total of 31 appearances. But it was precisely the bitter lesson of 2018 that led him to rethink his entire approach to his career. “At the end of the 2018 season, when I was flying back from Dubai, I wrote in my diary that from then on I would shape my game to compete in the majors and shine in the toughest challenges,” McIlroy revealed. “I worked on the essential aspects to succeed in these tournaments: ball trajectories, distance accuracy, wedge play, short game, and putting. I feel I have evolved a lot in these areas over the past few years.”
His performance in this opening round is proof of that evolution. Even when things seemed to get complicated – like on hole 4, where a spectator tried to grab his ball after an unusual bounce on the cart path – McIlroy maintained his composure and secured par. In the end, he candidly summarized his performance: “It’s so difficult, so demanding. I don’t feel like I made two bad iron shots on the last holes, but I put myself in tricky situations and couldn’t save par. Still, it was a great day. This course is challenging enough on its own, and with winds of 30 miles per hour, it tests the best in the world.”
What follows is, naturally, an increased expectation regarding what McIlroy can achieve in this edition of the U.S. Open. If he can maintain the mental discipline and technical precision demonstrated in this first round, he may finally exorcise the ghosts of Shinnecock Hills and further solidify his status as a living legend of world golf. The course promises to remain unforgiving and the competition fierce, but the confidence shown by the Ulster golfer suggests that, this time, he is truly prepared to claim one of the most coveted titles in the sport. The coming days will be decisive and are sure to keep fans glued to the unfolding competition, attentive to every stroke of the man who refuses to be defeated by the wind.
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