Rory McIlroy took the course at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club for a practice round on Monday, preparing for the 126th playing of the U.S. Open that will take place later this month.
Before his opening round of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club, McIlroy was asked for his assessment of the course conditions at Shinnecock Hills.
“Shinnecock looks good. The fairways are very generous — they’re more generous than they were in 2018. But the first cut of rough is five inches long,” McIlroy explained. “So if you miss the fairway, you feel like you deserve a bad lie.”
“If it’s set up the right way, I think it’s one of the best championship tests in the country,” he added. “It’s an amazing golf course.”
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McIlroy notched his first career major championship at the 2011 U.S. Open, securing an 8-stroke victory as a 22-year-old golfer at Congressional Country Club. Since then, the 37-year-old Northern Irishman has recorded five more major championship titles — including back-to-back victories at the Masters over the last two seasons.
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McIlroy has never won at Muirfield Village, the site of this week’s Memorial Tournament.
“For being such a long golf course, I feel like it takes driver out of my hand a lot,” McIlroy said on Wednesday. “I feel like my biggest weapon is in someway neutralized here.”
McIlroy will play his opening round of the Memorial Tournament alongside Justin Thomas.
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