Rory McIlroy Seven Back at US Open but Remains Defiant
Rory McIlroy trails leader Wyndham Clark by seven strokes heading into the weekend at Shinnecock Hills, but the Masters champion carries no sense of surrender into the closing rounds. The Holywood man sits tied for 11th on level par alongside world number one Scottie Scheffler, seven shots off the pace set by the 2023 US Open champion.
On a Long Island links that punishes the reckless and rewards the patient, the Co Down golfer knows that distance is just distance until the wind shifts. And the wind always shifts at Shinnecock.
What happened to McIlroy on day two?
The morning brought promise. McIlroy played his front nine in two-under-par, climbing within four shots of the summit. For a time, the leaderboard looked less like a mountain and more like a hill worth climbing. But the back nine told a different story, as Shinnecock Hills reminded everyone why they call it a test of character.
Three dropped shots in succession from the 10th hole. A thinned approach from 79 yards that sailed over the green, caught from a soft lie in the fairway. Then two birdies that briefly steadied the ship, only for a double bogey at the 15th to send him back into the swell. A one-over 71 told the story of a round that could have been worse, and perhaps should have been better.
McIlroy didn't flinch.