Rory McIlroy among top golfers struggling through treacherous Oakmont rough in opening round of US Open
All week long, golf fans have heard about the treacherous conditions that lurk at Oakmont Country Club for the 125th U.S. Open.
Rory McIlroy was among those golfers who proved why the course is so tough in this third major of the season.
The 2025 Masters champion was truly going through it at Oakmont during his Thursday round, and it came toward the end of what looked to be a great start for McIlroy.
McIlroy posted a front-nine 33, birdying his second and third holes while shooting par on the rest. However, the back nine was where things started to fall off the rails, and Oakmont's infamous thick rough played a huge part in that.
His first bogey of the day came on Hole 1 (McIlroy began his round on Hole 10), and things could've been much worse on Hole 4 when his drive on the par-5 fired to the right and landed on horrible, high grass.
The ball wasn't visible at all as McIlroy took a hack at it, and the result was it landing just a few feet in front of him. So, with one foot in a fairway bunker, McIlroy swung again but to no avail. The ball landed a few feet to the right this time.
McIlroy was stepping into his fourth shot on a hole that could've derailed his entire round. But he was able to get the ball on the fairway just in front of the green with a chance to at least go up and down to save bogey.
That's exactly what he did, needing a 30-foot putt to fall into the hole and he got it. McIlroy walked away hoping that was all the mishaps he would face, but more were coming.
Holes Nos. 6-8 saw bogey, bogey and double-bogey respectively, as McIlroy couldn't find any consistency in his swing. His putting stroke also didn't help, missing short putts that could've gone down for par.
On his second-to-last hole, McIlroy's tee shot on the 289-yard par-3 went deep into the rough behind the green, and he let off a frustrating swipe at it when his pitch shot once again went just a few feet in front of him.
McIlroy finished his round 4-over (74), which puts him tied for 64th on the U.S. Open leaderboard.
McIlroy wasn't the only one dealing with the harsh conditions at Oakmont, as one of his best friends, Shane Lowry, was truly going through it in his 9-over 79 on Thursday. He was even spotted throwing a microphone around the green after a chunked chip shot.
Top players like Justin Rose (7-over), Patrick Cantlay (6-over), Matthew Fitzpatrick (4-over) and Wyndham Clark (4-over) were also among those struggling on Thursday.
It will be interesting to see the leaderboard once those in the afternoon finish their rounds, as McIlroy and more could have some work to do on Friday to make the U.S. Open cut.
Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
2025 US Open Round 3 tee times for Saturday: Groups, TV schedule, streaming
USA TODAY and Yahoo may earn commission from links in this article. Pricing and availability subject to change. Just three golfers remain under par at the U.S. Open after the second round did not finish on Friday due to weather. Play was suspended due to lightning with 13 golfers still on the course in a driving rain, including Thriston Lawrence, who was looking at a three-foot par putt on his final hole to stay at one over on the week when the horn sounded. The second round will resume play at 7:30 a.m. ET. The third round will tee off at 9:12 a.m. ET, with the final pairing of J.J. Spaun and Sam Burns at 3:35 p.m. ET. US Open 2025 Saturday tee times, groups for Round 3 Tee times for the third round have been set. Here's the complete schedule, pairings, with all players teeing off from the No. 1 tee: Advertisement All times Eastern; (a) amateur 9:12 a.m. – Philip Barbaree, Jr. 9:23 a.m. – Cam Davis, Brian Harman 9:34 a.m. – Matt Fitzpatrick, Andrew Novak 9:45 a.m. – Harris English, Hideki Matsuyama 9:56 a.m. – James Nicholas, Laurie Canter 10:07 a.m. – Ryan McCormick, Patrick Reed 10:18 a.m. – Ryan Gerard, Niklas Norgaard 10:34 a.m. – Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele 10:45 a.m. – Jordan Smith, Justin Hastings (a) 10:56 a.m. – Tony Finau, Marc Leishman 11:07 a.m. – Michael Kim, Corey Conners 11:18 a.m. – J.T. Poston, Matt Wallace 11:29 a.m. – Chris Gotterup, Johnny Keefer 11:40 a.m. – Maverick McNealy, Tom Kim 11:56 a.m. – Mackenzie Hughes, Matthieu Pavon 12:07 p.m. – Sungjae Im, Jordan Spieth 12:18 p.m. – Ryan Fox, Robert MacIntyre 12:29 p.m. – Taylor Pendrith, Trevor Cone 12:40 p.m. – Rasmus Højgaard, Aaron Rai 12:51 p.m. – Daniel Berger, Jhonattan Vegas 1:02 p.m. – Cameron Young, Scottie Scheffler 1:18 p.m. – Collin Morikawa, Denny McCarthy 1:29 p.m. – Jon Rahm, Nick Taylor 1:40 p.m. – Sam Stevens, Keegan Bradley 1:51 p.m. – Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, Carlos Ortiz 2:02 p.m. – Chris Kirk, Jason Day 2:13 p.m. – Tyrrell Hatton, Christiaan Bezuidenhout 2:24 p.m. – Adam Schenk, Max Greyserman 2:40 p.m. – Emiliano Grillo, Thomas Detry 2:51 p.m. – Si Woo Kim, Brooks Koepka 3:02 p.m. – Russell Henley, Thriston Lawrence 3:13 p.m. – Victor Perez, Ben Griffin 3:24 p.m. – Adam Scott, Viktor Hovland 3:35 p.m. – J.J. Spaun, Sam Burns Watch the U.S. Open with Fubo How to watch US Open 2025: TV, streaming at Oakmont The 2025 U.S. Open will be broadcast by NBC and USA Network throughout all four rounds, with NBC and USA Network splitting coverage for the third and final rounds. The final two rounds of the U.S. Open will be live streamed on Peacock, the USGA app and Fubo. Peacock will also broadcast U.S. Open All-Access, its whiparound-style offering, on all four days. All times Eastern. Third round: Saturday, June 14 10 a.m.-Noon ET on USA Network, Fubo Noon-8 p.m. ET on NBC, Fubo Final Round: Sunday, June 15 9 a.m.-12 p.m. on USA Network, Fubo 12-7 p.m. on NBC, Peacock, Fubo This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: US Open third round tee times, pairings for Saturday at Oakmont
Yahoo
23 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Cameras Catch Rory McIlroy Meltdown at Oakmont Club in US Open
Cameras Catch Rory McIlroy Meltdown at Oakmont Club in US Open originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Cameras in the grandstands and on broadcasting towers were rolling as Rory McIlroy reached his breaking point during the second round of the U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club. Advertisement After misplacing his drive at the drivable par‑4 17th, McIlroy spun around in frustration and unleashed a powerful swing, obliterating the white tee marker with his driver. The outburst quickly went viral on social media, underscoring just how punishing Oakmont can be. He was not the only one; several others, like Scottie Scheffler and Shane Lowry, also lost their cool during the event. Despite that meltdown and an earlier club‑throw on the par‑5 12th, McIlroy rallied when it mattered most. After flirting with disaster through much of his round, he rolled in a clutch five‑foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to card a 72 and squeeze past the cutline at six‑over par. Rory McIlroy plays his shot from the 12th tee during the first round.© Bill Streicher-Imagn Images "This should be at least a fine if not further penalty. He has played a tough Open and performed poorly before so this emotion isn't new." A fan commented. Advertisement "Was glad to see him get the slam but hard to root for a guy who behaves like this" Another said. "Good thing he won at Augusta cuz my man does not handle failure any better than a petulant child." One fan posted. "Classless behavior from Rory McIlroy. Don't judge someone's character from how they act in victory, judge it by how they act in defeat. Rory has no class." Another wrote. "My kids are happily watching the US Open and just saw Rory McIlroy destroy the tee marker. They are scarred for life, asked me to turn it off. What a terrible example he just set" A fan expressed. Advertisement "For someone who's carried the PGA Tour's banner. Rory McIlroy's recent behavior, media silence, outbursts, board drama, feels off. Not a great look. ⛳️👀" Another said. This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 14, 2025, where it first appeared.
Hamilton Spectator
26 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Raducanu to miss Berlin Open because of back issue ahead of Wimbledon
LONDON (AP) — Emma Raducanu will miss next week's Berlin Open because of a back problem, as she tries to get ready for Wimbledon. The 37th-ranked Raducanu has been dealing with the back issue since before the French Open last month. She took an off-court medical timeout during her quarterfinal loss at Queen's Club to Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen on Friday. Afterward, the 22-year-old Raducanu said she needs rest. 'I'm not overly concerned that it's something serious,' the 2021 U.S. Open champion said, 'but I know it's something that's very annoying and needs proper and careful management.' Nine of the top 10 women's players are set to compete in Berlin, a grass-court event players use to prepare for Wimbledon, which starts on June 30. ___ AP tennis:
