After Scottie Scheffler’s recent victory at the Memorial Tournament, attention turned to how Rory McIlroy would respond in his first outing since the PGA Championship. Despite concerns regarding his recent performance, no one anticipated the magnitude of his struggles this week. McIlroy unfortunately missed the cut by 12 strokes, landing in a tie for 149th out of 153 players.
McIlroy began his tournament weakly, scoring a 71 in the first round and placing tied for 119th, with hopes for recovery in the second round. He started well on Friday, hitting par on the first four holes, but his round soured when he mishit his tee shot into the rough, which led to a quadruple-bogey 8 on his card.
“Even grand slam winners make quads.”
— Skratch Tweet
After a mental slip following his high score, he suffered additional bogeys and a double, finishing the day at 9 over, and ending at 10 over for the tournament.
“I think once I made that big number on the front nine, I was always behind the 8-ball a little bit…” McIlroy reflected post-round, noting that he was trying to learn from the experience as he looked ahead to the U.S. Open next week.
Despite making his first birdie on No. 15, the damage was already done, resulting in a disappointing 78 score in the second round, raising alarms regarding his condition before the U.S. Open at Oakmont.
McIlroy expressed that his recent struggles stemmed in part from his issues with a new driver and missing fairways on the course not known for tight tracking. He acknowledged the necessity of precision at Oakmont’s unforgiving fairways and rough.
“Yeah, of course it concerns me… I’m still sort of searching for the missing piece off the tee, and for me when I get that part of the game clicking, everything falls into place. Right now that isn’t and that’s a concern going into next week,” he stated.
As he gears up for Oakmont, his confidence hangs in the balance, particularly with a complicated driving game and fragile putting under pressure. With odds shifting in the wake of his performance, it remains to be seen how McIlroy will fare moving forward.
