Rory McIlroy‘s anger boiled over after completely miscuing his second shot at Oakmont Country Club’s monster par-five 12th on Friday. The Northern Irishman was fighting to get back on the right side of the cut line at the supremely difficult host venue for this year’s US Open, but he could not slip into a productive rhythm and became increasingly frustrated as his second round wore on.
McIlroy has been on a worrying run of form since winning the Career Grand Slam and ending his long major drought at the Masters in April. He finished 14 shots behind winner Scottie Scheffler at the PGA Championship in May, missed the cut at the Canadian Open last week, and brought those struggles with him to Pennsylvania for the year’s third major.
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The 36-year-old left himself with work to do after carding an four-over-par opening-round 74 on Thursday. And things continued to trend downward as he approached his second shot on the 647-yard 12th hole on Friday.
By that point, McIlroy had slipped to +8 – one shot behind the projected cut line at the time. He spied an inviting opportunity to get at least one shot back after leaving himself in position with a perfect tee shot.
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As McIlroy stood over his second shot, Sky Sports commentator Paul McGinley said: “Has Rory got something special here? A big, high fade is what’s required to access this pin over on the back right-hand side.”
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But what McIlroy delivered was the exact opposite as his long iron hooked violently to the left, landing in Oakmont’s notoriously thick rough. The five-time major winner only held his follow-through for a split second before furiously launching the club down the fairway.
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And just like that, the opportunity to pull level with the projected cut line turned into a chance missed as McIlroy walked off with a par.
By that point in his round, McIlroy had slipped 11 shots behind joint-leaders J. J. Spaun and Sam Burns, and the chances of winning his second major of the season were all but gone.
When the last group of the day were through eight holes, only five players in the 156-strong field were under par for the tournament, and no bogey-free stars remained. Backmarker George Duangmanee showed just how brutal the course can be by racking up a huge score of +35 by the end of his first two rounds.
