Golf Channel journalist Ryan Lavner has shared his view on whether Rory McIlroy has a chance of winning the US Open at Pinehurst next month following his performance at the PGA Championship last week.
Rory McIlroy went to Valhalla as one of the clear favourites to win, alongside Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka.
McIlroy had won on his previous two starts and was returning to the course where he last won a major championship, with the Northern Irishman triumphing in Kentucky in the 2014 PGA Championship.
His first round hinted that the 35-year-old was going to be in contention this time around, but McIlroy never quite built on that promising start and was well out of the equation by the time the leaders got stuck into their rounds on Sunday.
Journalist assesses Rory McIlroy’s chances of winning US Open
He finished in a tie for 12th, leaving many to wonder if he will ever end the wait for a fifth major title.
Speaking on the Golf Channel Podcast, Rex Hoggard suggested that McIlroy was the player with a real point to prove at the US Open in June, but that prompted Ryan Lavner to admit that he is not optimistic about his chances.
“Having played Pinehurst recently, humble brag, it’s hard to see that that one can come to fruition for Rory McIlroy,” he said.
“If they don’t get rain and that golf course plays how it should, which is firm, bouncy, tight around the greens, where you need to be so precise with your short irons and wedges into very small plateaus into those dome-like greens, I don’t see that one happening for Rory McIlroy.”
Northern Irishman needs to evoke spirit of 2011 win
It was the US Open which provided the scene of one of McIlroy’s most remarkable victories back in 2011, as he faced doubters after his collapse at The Masters earlier in the year.
McIlroy finished at -16, breaking the record for a US Open to put that Masters disappointment almost completely behind him until it became apparent that a green jacket was all that he was missing.
Many will be wary of tipping McIlroy for glory at Pinehurst given how many times he has fallen short of expectations.
But there is absolutely no question that few players have the quality to completely blow the field away like McIlroy.
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