Rory McIlroy glad to ‘minimise mistakes’ after under-par first round at US Open

The Holywood man carded a one-under 69 on day one in testing conditions.

Rory McIlroy waits to play on the first hole during the first round of the US Open golf tournament at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club. Pic: AP Photo/David J. Phillip

Two late bogeys were a disappointment, but Rory McIlroy was not about to fret too much about an under-par score during the first round of the US Open.

On a day delayed two hours by fog at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club and an ominous forecast for blustery winds, McIlory rode a back-nine eagle at the par-5 fifth hole (his 14th) to the solo lead before bogeys at the eighth and ninth holes knocked him a stroke back of early clubhouse leader Sam Stevens.

McIlroy, the reigning Masters champion, shot 1- under-par 69 and will likely have a long wait before his second round begins on Friday as the first round was not going to be completed.

Some players were only just teeing off late in the afternoon.

“I think with the conditions today, anything under par or anything around even par is a good score,” McIlroy said. “It was a day to really just keep yourself in the tournament and not shoot yourself out of it, which is exactly what I did eight years ago here.

“So sort of went out with the mindset that pars were going to be good, and if you could pick up a couple of birdies here and there, that's always a bonus. But really just minimising the mistakes. I did that for the most part today.

“It's so tough. It's so difficult. I didn't feel like 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.”  

McIlroy hit 10 of 14 fairways and 12 of 18 greens on a day when the course set-up was likely as easy as the players will see all week.

That didn’t mean scoring was easy.

But due to the consistent forecast for heavy winds, United States Golf Association officials were cautious, not wanting any of the controversy of previous US Opens here that were marred by course set-up fiascos.

“Obviously it got quite windy, but you couldn't have asked for a better setup,” said three-time major champion Padraig Harrington, who shot 77. “There obviously was a couple of tough holes, but all the tees were up. The pins were as easy as can be. Greens were soft. So it was a tough test but very, very fair.

“I think they'll be happy with where the scoring is at. It seems to be a few guys under par. It's very, very playable. There's a couple of holes straight into the wind, which were tough, and the tee's up. It wasn't tough because -- it was just tough because of how straight the wind was. I always like a bit of side wind to help me. So a few of the holes, they changed a little bit like that.” 

Harrington was in the field due to his U.S. Senior Open victory last year and lamented his own game more than the course.

“A few mistakes, and I didn't play particularly well,” Harrington said. “I didn't drive it very well, which put me under a lot of pressure.” 

Graeme McDowell also regretted a tough stretch after an early good start to the round that saw him quickly get under par. But the 2010 US Open champion at Pebble Beach made eight bogeys after that including a front-side (his back) 40 to shoot 76.

“I can’t believe I’m saying, but I mean, it was maybe too soft,” McDowell said. “Like from what I saw in practice to what we’re seeing today, it’s a different golf course. Spinning golf balls back down while. But clearly, the wind forecast, they had to be safe. They had to play on the right side. The wind gusts haven’t showed up and maybe they will. It was tough to recalibrate the system a little bit.” 

McDowell, 46, is playing in his first major championship since the 2020 US Open after making it through final qualifying on May 18 outside of Dallas. The LIV Golf member could not help but be impressed by seeing McIlory’s name near the top again.

“You run out of superlatives to describe Rory McIlroy,” McDowell said. "It’s amazing. You know, 15 years ago, I would have said, essentially, these aren’t his type of conditions. But he’s an experienced, intelligent player and he knows how to get it done anywhere.” 

As it played out, McIlroy might have gotten a bad break as conditions appeared to calm down as the afternoon moved into evening.

Shane Lowry was among those who had a late start. No 1-ranked Scottie Scheffler shot 2-over-par 72.