'Greatest shot of my life' sends Fox to U.S. Open
Ryan Fox tells Kira K. Dixon about the emotions of his thrilling playoff win at the RBC Canadian Open before Golf Central give their reactions.
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Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Rory McIlroy Makes Concerning Admission Before U.S. Open
Rory McIlroy Makes Concerning Admission Before U.S. Open originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The third major of the year is set to begin Thursday, as the U.S. Open heads to Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania—a course that many golfers, including world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, have called one of the toughest on the PGA Tour. Advertisement What's stood out most during early practice rounds is the brutally thick rough surrounding the greens. And ahead of the opening round, former 2011 U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy—coming off his worst showing of the year after missing the cut at the RBC Canadian Open—made a concerning admission that caught the attention of fans. On Tuesday, McIlroy revealed that he shot an 81 during a practice round at Oakmont, despite saying he didn't feel like he played poorly. With par set at 70, that would amount to an 11-over score, which is a clear indication of just how punishing the course can be. "Anyone that's watched Rory recently is not shocked by this. Damn near shot this in Canada last week," a fan said. Advertisement "He's done. Ready to play tennis he said. Guessing he misses cut this week," someone else added. Another fan posted, "Incoming missed cut." One more fan commented, "That's pretty believable because he shot that in Canada a few days prior." Rory McIlroy at Quail HollowAaron Doster-Imagn Images Rory McIlroy has had a strong season overall, capturing three tournament wins. But ever since his historic victory at Augusta National—where he finally completed the career Grand Slam—McIlroy admits he's struggled to find that same competitive fire. "You dream about the final putt going in at the Masters, but you don't think about what comes next," McIlroy said Tuesday ahead of the U.S. Open just outside Pittsburgh. "I think chasing a certain goal for the better part of a decade and a half... I think I'm allowed a little bit of time to relax. But here at Oakmont, I certainly can't relax this week." Advertisement He added, "I think it's about trying to have a little bit of amnesia and forget what happened six weeks ago. Then just trying to find the motivation to go back out there and work as hard as I've been working." Related: Scottie Scheffler Has No Doubt Naming Hardest PGA Tour Course Before U.S. Open This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 11, 2025, where it first appeared.
NBC Sports
9 hours ago
- NBC Sports
Punch Shot: Who wins the 2025 U.S. Open? Winning score under or over par?
The 125th U.S. Open begins Thursday at Oakmont Country Club. Can anyone beat Scottie Scheffler? What's the winning score? Who might surprise? The team is on-site in Oakmont, Pennsylvania, and offers up some answers to the pressing questions at the year's third major. Who wins the 125th U.S. Open? Rex Hoggard: Scottie Scheffler. Because he's Scottie, the winner of three of his last four starts by an average of 5 ½ shots, and there is too much uncertainty to go with anything but chalk at Oakmont. Scheffler has all the tools to win the U.S. Open, or any other tournament he plays. The only question is if he has the patience for the game's most demanding test. Ryan Lavner: Scottie Scheffler. You can make a reasonable case for about a dozen other players – Bryson! Rahmbo! Shane! Collin! – but they all come with the caveat that the world No. 1 is off his game. And there's no indication that is or will be the case. Scheffler is the best driver, best iron player (by miles), a top-5 scrambler and, now, an elite putter – coupled with his myriad other gifts, like grit and patience, that make him the quintessential U.S. Open player at a quintessential U.S. Open. Brentley Romine: Scottie Scheffler. The toughest test in golf and the world's best player. Let's not overthink things. He's long, straight, hits it close, scrambles at an elite level (though slightly worse than his historical numbers) and has been putting it better this year. Scheffler gets his third slam leg on Sunday. Is the winning score under or over par? Hoggard: Under par. This version of Oakmont feels somewhere between the '16 U.S. Open, where Dustin Johnson won at 4 under, and the '07 championship, which was won by Angel Cabrera at 5 over. The winner will finish the week under par but it won't be by much. Lavner: Under. The first few rounds could get spicy, with ideal conditions, sun and wind, to firm up a course that has been doused with historic levels of rain over the past few months. But that's unlikely to last through the weekend, with more rain anticipated, that will allow at least a few players to finish under par at America's toughest course. Romine: Under par, but barely. The course remains soaked but should dry out before we get more storms on Saturday. The rough is brutal, but someone will hit fairways and score a bunch on the wedge holes to offset the likely healthy dose of bogeys. Golf Channel Staff, Rory McIlroy more likely to contend or miss the cut? Hoggard: Miss cut. It's hard to believe, considering that after he won the Masters many thought his newfound freedom could allow him to go on a truly remarkable major run, but that hasn't been the case. He's fresh off his first missed cut in nearly a year, where he posted his worst round in a non-major at the RBC Canadian Open, and is still searching for the right driver. Not a good combination at Oakmont. Lavner: Sorry, but the real answer is somewhere in between, similar to how he performed at the PGA (T-47). His driver situation has settled, and his Open record – improving each year since 2019, top-10s all of them – can't be ignored. But his comments over the past few weeks also suggest that he's adrift mentally, and Oakmont will put every player in a bind. Will he have the patience and hunger to twist his way out of it? That's the biggest question this week. Romine: Miss cut. Especially if he drives the ball like he has since the PGA Championship a few weeks ago. Him revealing he shot 81 here last Monday doesn't help my confidence in him, either. Who's a dark horse contender (55-1+)? Hoggard: Brooks Koepka (60-1). There was a time, not that long ago, when Koepka would arrive at the national championship with a nonsensical amount of confidence. Those days aren't here — he hasn't posted a top-10 finish in a major since winning the 2023 PGA Championship — but he was solid in '16 at Oakmont when he tied for 13th, and the game's most demanding layout may just be what brings back 'Major Championship Brooks.' Lavner: Sam Burns (80-1). Nearly got it done last week in Canada, another strong performance from a player who has ripped off five top-20s in his last six starts. He also has the right combination of power, accuracy and strength to excel at a place like Oakmont, and it doesn't hurt that he's the game's best putter on greens that will baffle nearly everyone in the field. Keegan Bradley (90-1) and Harris English (100-1) are also appealing at their prices. Romine: Keegan Bradley (90-1). One storyline this weekend will be if the U.S. Ryder Cup captain can close out a U.S. Open title and rocket into contention for an automatic berth. He won't, but he will come awfully close. Si Woo Kim at 110-1 is appetizing as well.
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Yahoo
Rory McIlroy Shares Troubling Message Ahead of U.S. Open
Rory McIlroy Shares Troubling Message Ahead of U.S. Open originally appeared on Athlon Sports. After a two-week hiatus from the PGA Tour following the PGA Championship, Rory McIlroy returned to action this week at the RBC Canadian Open—but his time in the tournament was short-lived. Advertisement McIlroy struggled mightily over both rounds, never finding a consistent rhythm across the 36 holes he played. He ultimately missed the cut—and by a wide margin. The 2025 Masters champion shot a 71 on Thursday followed by a disappointing 78 on Friday, finishing at nine-over par. The cut line stood at two-under. Now, with a chance to regroup ahead of the third major of the year—the U.S. Open at Oakmont—McIlroy offered a concerning message about his performance in Canada. "Of course it concerns me," McIlroy said on Friday after his round. "You don't want to shoot high scores like the one I did today. Still, I felt like I came here obviously with a new driver thinking that that sort of was going to be good and solve some of the problems off the tee, but it didn't."He continued, "Obviously, going to Oakmont next week, what you need to do more than anything else there is hit fairways. Still sort of searching for the sort of missing piece off the tee." Rory McIlroy lines up his tee shot on the 14th tee during the final round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at Quail Doster-Imagn Images Rory McIlroy has had an outstanding year by any measure. His most significant achievement came at Augusta National, where he captured his first Masters title and completed the career Grand Slam. He also added victories at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and The Players Championship to round out an impressive season. Advertisement However, in comments this week, McIlroy admitted that maintaining motivation has been a challenge since his win at Augusta. After chasing the Masters for more than a decade, he said it's been difficult to find that extra edge and drive to compete at the same level. "I would certainly say that the last few weeks—I've had a couple of weeks off—and going and grinding on the range for three or four hours everyday is maybe a little tougher than it used to be," he told reporters. "You have this event in your life that you've worked towards and it happens, sometimes it's hard to find the motivation to get back on the horse and go again." Related: Fans Appalled By Rory McIlroy's Latest U.S. Open Blunders This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 7, 2025, where it first appeared.
