Masters champion Rory McIlroy has described Oakmont, the venue for this week’s US Open, as “impossible” after a punishing practice round last week.
The world number two revealed that during a practice round on June 2, he carded an 81, despite birdieing the final two holes. However, conditions were slightly more forgiving the following day.
The Northern Irishman has painful memories of Oakmont, having missed the cut when it last hosted the US Open in 2016. Since then, the Pittsburgh course has undergone a significant redesign in 2023. But McIlroy was quickly reminded of Oakmont’s brutal test, with its thick five-inch rough and treacherously fast greens.
“Last Monday felt impossible — I birdied the last two holes for 81,” said the five-time major winner. “It actually felt pretty good, it didn’t feel like I played that badly.”
McIlroy described Oakmont as a “big brute of a golf course” and added, “It’s much more playable now — but last week, the pins were in tricky spots, and the greens were running at 15 and a half. It was nearly unplayable.”
The 2011 US Open champion comes into this week’s major struggling for form, particularly off the tee, and is looking to bounce back after a disastrous Canadian Open performance, where he missed the cut by 12 shots.
Despite the tough start at Oakmont, McIlroy admitted conditions were more manageable during Tuesday’s practice round.
“If you put it on the fairway, it’s certainly playable,” said the 36-year-old. “Then it’s just about leaving the ball below the hole, making as many pars as possible, and taking birdies when they come. Patience and attitude will decide who wins this week.”
McIlroy joked that spotters were crucial in helping locate errant shots, adding, “Last Monday, if you missed the fairway, you could be searching for a couple of minutes to even find your ball. It’s very penal if you miss — and sometimes even if you don’t.”
Since completing his career Grand Slam with his Masters triumph earlier this year, McIlroy has struggled to find his rhythm. He finished tied for seventh in his first event after Augusta, followed by a tie for 47th at the US PGA Championship, where his driver failed a pre-tournament legality test. His struggles continued in Toronto with an eight-over 78 that saw him miss the cut again.
Speaking candidly, McIlroy admitted that maintaining motivation has been challenging following his long-awaited Augusta victory.
“I’m trying to have a bit of amnesia about what happened six weeks ago and find the motivation to work as hard as I have been,” he said.
“I worked incredibly hard on my game from October through April. It was nice to see all that effort pay off — but now I need to reset and keep pushing.”
McIlroy now hopes his reset comes just in time to challenge for his second US Open title on Oakmont’s unforgiving fairways.
