Rory McIlroy got a big payoff at the U.S. Open, as he opened with a 65 to tie for the lead on the first day of play at Pinehurst.
The Northern Irishman eased to a record-breaking first Grand Slam title at the event 13 years ago, but he failed to qualify in four of his next seven matches.
After tying for ninth in 2019, he posted five straight top-10 finishes, improving each year until his runner-up finish last season.
The 35-year-old will be hoping for a better result on Sunday after a bogey-free start on the famously difficult No. 2 course, but he attributes much of his success to a change in mentality five years ago.
“If you look back at the U.S. Open I won in 2011, it was more like a PGA Championship than a typical U.S. Open,” he said.
“In my U.S. Open career, probably for 10 years now, I really don’t think I’ve accepted the U.S. Open setup. My first U.S. Open was in 2009, and I think I really changed my mind about the U.S. Open in 2019, when it was at Pebble Beach.
“That's when I started to enjoy this style of golf more. It's a lot different than the golf we play every week.”
“I really appreciated that, and as time went on, I began to appreciate golf course architecture more and more, and I started to read more about it and understand why golf course architects do certain things and design courses the way they do.
“I became a student of the game of golf again, and I think because of that, I started to like golf courses like this and settings like this.”
While the U.S. Open presents a unique challenge to the game of golf, McIlroy still believes there are aspects of other styles of play that can help you thrive.
Rory is here. Two under par after five holes📈#USOpen pic.twitter.com/IftmeSAjDP
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) June 13, 2024
The four-time major champion has loved playing links golf since he was a kid and believes there are elements of that upbringing that could help him win this week.
“It reminds me of playing links golf courses as a kid,” he said, “and the greens are a little more sloping and there's a little more movement. But there are other options.”
“You can chip and you can putt. I'd be really happy if we could play more golf courses like this.”
The world number three holed out from seven feet for birdie on the fourth hole and chipped in from just before the green for another birdie on the next hole to finish at 33.
He two-putted from just off the green on the par-5 10th, then holed his approach to 11 feet on the 16th and holed it from 20 feet on the final hole.
“There was a period where I wasn't getting off to the best start in the majors,” said McIlroy, who won the 2011 U.S. Open, 2012 PGA Championship and 2014 Open Championship after bogey-free starts.
“I was probably a little too excited at the beginning of the week.
“But going back to the (U.S.) PGA Championship, I started at five under at Valhalla. Even going back to last year's championship, I started at five under. Not as low as Ricky (Fowler) and Xander (Schauffele), but it felt good to start low and feel like I was in a tournament from day one.
“Of course, in the Grand Slams that I’ve won or the tournaments where I’ve played well, I always seem to get off to a good start and it’s great to win a Grand Slam again.
“I played my short game pretty good at first. I chipped in on the 5th, and played really good up and down on the 6th and 8th. But other than that, I felt like I hit every other green. It was a pretty controlled round of golf.”
