In 139 major rounds Rory McIlroy had never shot higher. Indeed, when put alongside par, this 80 was his worst 18 holes ever on the game’s biggest stages. Hapless in the Hamptons did not begin to describe it.
When McIlroy left the course, he was 11 shots behind the early clubhouse lead set by England’s Ian Poulter and the American Scott Piercy. His worst start to a major, his highest score at a US Open: the stats lined up like a charge-sheet.
Granted, there was the consolation that he was far from alone in struggling on a first day when this Long Island layout restated its propensity to reduce the best golfers in the world into quivering hackers.
Playing partners Phil Mickelson and Jordan Spieth struggled to a 78 and 77, so much for being “The Supergroup”, while another former world No 1, Jason Day fired a 79. Yet the fact that, like Mickelson, McIlroy declined to talk to the media summed up his dismay.
After coming in with such hope, McIlroy’s third US Open missed cut in succession looms. At the least he needs to mount a second-round charge as he is far too adept to be bowing out on Fridays so meekly.
With so many big names crashing and burning, the USGA was coming under criticism. That was inevitable after the last US Open here in 2004 when the governing body lost control of the course.
But although, as Paul Casey opined after his 73, “the USGA didn’t hold back on the pin positions’”, it could hardly be blamed for the crosswinds and the 20mph gusts. The fairways are forgiving and that is why McIlroy hitting only seven of them seemed so inexcusable. In contrast, Mickelson got 13 of the 14.
McIlroy managed to miss the 50-yards wide fairway on the first and did so with an iron. Considering his talent, that simply has to be a mental problem. Bizarrely, McIlroy managed to reel off three birdies, two of them in succession on the fifth and sixth (his 14th and 15th) as he tried to launch some sort of rescue operation.
Alas, two bogeys followed just as quickly, compounding the five he made earlier as well as the two double-bogeys. He should feel fortunate that his “thin” from the fairway bunker on the 16th (his seventh) did not bury his ball in the hay or else he would have been even lower than 70th of the 78 players who went out in the morning wave.
Poulter did not bow to any superior in these groups. The 42-year-old shrugged off his lengthy dislike of the major its organisers love to call “golf’s ultimate test” with a quality ball-striking display which contained three birdies including a sweetly-struck seven iron on the 11th which looked almost certain to drop for a hole-in-one.
Having won in Houston in April and notched up three top 12s in his five events since, nobody should be surprised at the resurgent world No 27.
Justin Rose was not shocked by the form of his friend. “It’s fantastic to see him up there in these events again,” Rose said. “Ian’s a great wind player so this suits him. And his putter seems to be catching up with the rest of his play.”
If Poulter is to prevail, however, then Rose appears confident he will have to fend him off first. The world No 3, who will top the rankings for the first time if he wins his second US Open, was composed in his 71.
There were two birdies to go with the three bogeys and although there were a few yanked putts, in his words there were “a few miraculous up and downs” to right the scales. Rose is playing the best golf of his career and is in his element.
“You need three things: perseverance, commitment and discipline’,” he said. “It’s a different type of enjoyment, right? I enjoy the fight, the grind. When I got here first thing and saw the flags were blowing dead straight in the wind, I thought, ‘Whoa, this is going to be tough’. And when I see the scores of Rory, Phil and Jordan they make my round seem all the more better.”
That trio know that it could have been worse. They could have been Scott Gregory. The 2016 amateur champion, playing in his first major as a pro, shot a 92, the first US Open score in the 90s in 16 years.
There were only three pars in a nightmare morning featuring two triple-bogeys, three double-bogeys and 10 bogeys. Credit to Gregory for stopping to talk.
“The last time I didn’t break 90 was eight years ago or more,’’ he said. “It’s been a long time and this is not the week I wanted to revisit that score. But I’ll quickly forget it.”
What he will always remember is the photo he had taken with Tiger Woods on Wednesday. “I’ve been waiting for that picture for about 15 years,’’ Gregory said.
Woods was suffering his own humiliations as his afternoon round began. From the middle of the first fairway, he flew the green and twice saw his effort to negotiate the slope cast his ball back to his feet. Yes, it was happening to the very best of them.