World No 1 Scottie Scheffler is going for the career slam at the US Open where rival Rory McIlroy is trying to win it again.
McIlroy, 37, missed the cut in 2018, the last time the US Open was played at Shinnecock, but was the US Open runner-up in 2023 and 2024.
“Shinnecock looks good,” McIlroy said.
“Fairways are very generous. But the first cut of rough is five inches long.
“So it’s like the first cut is maybe three paces wide and then it gets into the fescue… if you miss the fairway, I feel like you deserve a bad lie.”
McIlroy, whose only US Open win came in 2011, said expanded greens will help avoid past playability issues with greens at Shinnecock.
“The greens…
“I really don’t think they need to get much faster.
“They can get them firm and use the hole locations they want without having some of the struggles they’ve had the last couple of US Opens,” he said.
Players complained the US Golf Association “lost the course” in 2004 and 2018 at Shinnecock, when they needed to water greens between groups to try and keep them playable as balls rolled off sloped putting surfaces.
“It’s all about them just maintaining the green speeds really where they are and not getting them too out of hand, and I think it’ll be a great week,” McIlroy said.
“If it’s set up the right way, I think it’s one of the best championship tests in the country. It’s an amazing golf course.”
Article Link: 15 years on, can Rory win the US Open again?