Oakmont's difficult yet exciting course as it proves a rollercoaster in opening round for McIlroy and Lowry

Irish Examiner

21 hours ago

Back to the quiet contemplation, then. Oakmont will do that to you.
Neither Rory McIlroy nor Shane Lowry made their way into the interview tent after their Thursday morning openers at the US Open left both facing an early close. Both Irishmen have had their issues with post-round media duties in recent months but the silent treatment in Pittsburgh was a little more explainable. Perhaps even expected once you looked at their scores.
McIlroy's round got away from him slowly but steadily after the turn. Lowry's was on its way somewhere beyond his control a whole lot earlier. Bar a brief flash of brilliance from the fairway in front of the Church Pews, the Offaly man endured fiendish, call it biblical, punishment.
Helpfully, the two groups which followed the Irish-heavy tee time into the clubhouse saw players step in front of the mic to offer some thoughts. Scotland's Robert MacIntyre, a Ryder Cup teammate, reflected on what he'd just experienced.
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'The most demanding golf course I've ever played, and I've played Royal Lytham,' said MacIntyre, whose level-par 70 was four shots better than McIlroy's and a full nine better than Lowry's disastrous 79. 'That's up there in the top 10 of any rounds I've played. It is just so hard. Every shot you're on a knife edge. I absolutely [had fun] because I like hitting crazy shots.
'You shoot four level-par rounds, you're walking away with a medal and a trophy.'
DIFFICULT YET EXCITING: Robert MacIntyre, of Scotland, tees off on the 13th hole. Pic:AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster
Korean Si Woo Kim, one of just four players who made it back into the clubhouse under par as the afternoon wave got going, had his own take. 'Honestly, I don't even know what I'm doing on the course,' he said. 'Kind of hitting good…but I feel like this course is too hard for me. So, kind of...like...no expectation. But I played great today!'
That's a stream of consciousness from a mind left scrambled by knee-high, ravenous rough and greens that do everything in their power to deceive and deny. Oakmont demands perfection because anything less is peril.
In pairing McIlroy with Lowry for the first two days, many felt the USGA had done the Irish duo a favour. Perhaps they did. The close friends were at least able to commiserate with one another in close quarters as the hallowed turf showed its teeth. It bit Lowry first but bided its time with McIlroy.
The Holywood man had made the turn on 2-under, one of just a handful of the morning starters in the red. But things darkened in a hurry as four bogeys and a double on the 8th, his penultimate hole, led to a 4-over 74, his worst opening-round score at a US Open for seven years.
Alongside him, Lowry came off in even worse shape. A stunner of a slam dunk eagle from way downtown on the 3rd proved to be a lone highlight of a round that featured five bogeys and three double-bogeys. Just five players were below him on the leaderboard as he finished.
American JJ Spaun set the pace with a faultless 4-under 66, going bogey-free at a course that proved more punishing as the morning went on. But among the afternoon wave, which included Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm and Jordan Spieth, others found chinks of light through the thickest rough. Surprisingly, the world No.1 wasn't among them in his early going, Scheffler scuffling to three bogeys in the space of four holes before he got to the 6th.
FLYING START: J.J. Spaun is off to a flying start at the US Open. Pic: AP Photo/Charlie Riedel
It was important to remember MacIntyre's reminder that there was still plenty of golf to be played. Whether Lowry or McIlroy will be around to play all 72 holes of it remains to be seen. A later start Friday is unlikely to prove favourable.
For McIlroy the major concern coming in was his driver. He'd reverted to his favoured TaylorMade model but left it in the bag until his third hole. When he did pull it out you felt powerless to predict what would come. Better to stay quiet and watch. He unleashed a bomb, his longest of the season careening down the 618-yard 12th, shaving a full 392 yards off that distance. It would help him to back-to-back birdies as he jumped briefly into an early share of the lead.
But it wasn't a sign of an unlikely quick fix. McIlroy would hit just seven of 14 fairways as the right leak returned. On the par-5 4th, his 13th, the drive went way right into hazard area. The Masters champion eschewed a drop and instead chopped — twice. His ball went a total of 90 feet. Not 90 yards, feet. A 25-footer saved double bogey but one of those arrived on his penultimate hole and the media requests, at this stage unsurprisingly, were turned down.
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For Lowry, runner-up here in 2016 when he'd came into Sunday in the lead, this was an opener that must have left him wondering where to turn. His long-range eagle came immediately after a brutal double bogey and the look on his face when it dunked was that of a man cursing his chosen profession.
The strokes gained data pointed to a round that fell apart in places you'd expect and some you wouldn't. Lowry ranked 155th of all 156 competitors in putting but surprisingly also plumbed depths in around-the-green rankings, 134th. His driving, rarely considered a strength, was the only number in the green.
But that's Oakmont for you. A brain-blending bastard of a test that, for everyone watching on, is thoroughly enjoyable. For most of those in the thickest thick of it, enjoyment isn't always evident.
'I think the rough is incredibly penalizing,' said defending champion Bryson DeChambeau after a 73. 'Even for a guy like me, I can't get out of it some of the times. It was a brutal test of golf. But one that I'm excited for tomorrow.'
That feeling may not be universally shared.