Rory McIlroy was not able to continue his run of impressive opening rounds at the US Open, with a promising start at Oakmont on Thursday tailing off as the Northern Irishman looked to prove a bit of a point to his critics.
Expectations for Rory McIlroy were about as low as they could have been heading into the US Open considering that he won The Masters just a couple of months ago. A missed cut at the RBC Canadian Open was a real concern.
McIlroy got off to a flyer, as he made a birdie on his second and third holes of the day. But Oakmont fought back as the round went on.
Of course, much of the talk leading into the third major of the year concerned McIlroy’s driving. He had to make a change with his driver at the PGA Championship, and McIlroy struggled with the driver at TPC Toronto.
Rory McIlroy very nearly makes a hugely costly error in the first round of the US Open
A 392-yard drive early on hinted that McIlroy had figured something out with his driver. But there were issues on the fourth hole – his 13th of the day – when the 36-year-old was wayward.
McIlroy ended up making a miraculous bogey after finding the green in five. And it seems that some fans were baffled by his decision-making.
McIlroy had the option to take a drop after finding the longest rough on the course. But rather than take the penalty, he decided to muscle the ball out and ended up with an awkward stance on top of a bunker.
Unfortunately, he barely managed to advance the ball with his third shot. And with that, questions have to be asked of why McIlroy decided that it would be a good idea to try and play out of the long grass.
It seems his caddie Harry Diamond was encouraging McIlroy to take a drop. However, the five-time major champion obviously felt he would be better off not taking the penalty.
Thankfully, he was saved by a brilliant putt which meant that the damage was no worse than a bogey. But it seemed to be such a needless mistake, and it could have been so much more costly.
How Rory McIlroy reacted to criticism of Harry Diamond at the Genesis Invitational
Diamond has come in for a lot of criticism since the previous US Open. Some felt that he should have helped McIlroy a lot more over the final four holes at Pinehurst as he lost out by one to Bryson DeChambeau.
But McIlroy has made sure to praise his good friend after his victories since that day in North Carolina. And McIlroy came to Diamond’s defence when a spectator heckled him at the Genesis Invitational earlier this year.
Perhaps there is an argument that Diamond should have been more forceful at Oakmont. Thankfully for McIlroy, the decision to play his ball as it was did not hurt him as much as it very easily could have done.
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