McIlroy shows plenty of early promise despite bumps in the road at Brookline
Northern Irishman reflects on fine margins as he begins quest to end major drought at US Open
THE sartorial statement was bold. So too was the golfing declaration of intent. Kitted out in a flooery polo shirt that would’ve generated one or two greenfingered queries on Gardeners’ Question Time, Rory McIlroy put an early stamp on the 122nd US Open Championship at Brookline.
A nicely assembled three-under 67 featured an engrossing mix of excellence and exasperation as the Northern Irishman opened his bid to end an eight-year major drought with plenty of purpose.
It wasn’t all plain sailing, of course. After a drive into the tangly rough near a bunker at the fifth – his 14th – McIlroy had to stand in the hazard to thrash at his ball and only succeeded in hoiking his effort a few yards into another bunker.
He took his frustrations out on the trap and gave the sand the kind of fearsome pounding those who have signed up for the LIV Golf Series have taken in recent days. You knew a mention of that thing was coming, didn’t you?
The brief temper tantrum seemed to do the trick, though. McIlroy managed to roll in a 20-footer of total authority to salvage his par and keep the momentum going.
The 33-year-old, full of confidence following his wonderful win in the Canadian Open last Sunday, had been set for a bogey-free round but Brookline doesn’t like to dish out cards with no blemishes. It is a US Open, after all.
On his final hole – the ninth
– a poor approach, which led to him tossing his club to the turf, cost him his only stroke of the day. “The margins are just so fine in this tournament and I think you can see that with some of the reactions,” said McIlroy of those little bursts of annoyance that the teasing, tormenting US Open tests can easily provoke.
The creeping pace of play of the group in front didn’t help matters. “They were like a hole or hole and a half behind the group in front of them,” McIlroy tutted. “That was a little frustrating.”
Leaving himself perched at the early summit eased those frustrations, however. “You feel like you’re right in the tournament from the start of the week, which is nice,” added the four-time major winner, who won the US Open back in 2011. “I’m going into round two with the mindset of ‘let’s keep it going’ rather than ‘where is the cut line?’ or whatever.
“If you don’t get off to a great start those thoughts start to creep in. You think, ‘Okay, what
do I need to just be here for the weekend?’ It’s certainly a different mindset when you get off to a good start.”
While the title holder Jon Rahm and Open champion Collin Morikawa both opened with oneunder 69s, the surprising name in the upper echelons was the world No.445, Callum Tarren, who posted a fine 67 to join McIlroy and Sweden’s David Lingmerth as an early frontrunner.
The 31-year-old from Darlington is a rookie on the PGA Tour having emerged from the second-tier Korn Ferry circuit last season. He’s playing in just his second major, after a US Open debut at Pebble Beach in 2019, but that lack of experience didn’t hinder his progress as he revelled on the big stage.
One-over at the turn, having started on the 10th, Tarren upped the antre coming home. He birdied the first, fifth and seventh before pulling an eagle out of the back on the eighth to bolster his barge through the field.
“I’m kind of pinching myself,” he gasped when he realised his position on the leaderboard.
Tarren, who came through a final qualifying shoot-out for this week’s showpiece, arrived in Boston without any clubs after a muddle in a Canadian airport. He took the inconvenience in his stride. “It was the second US Open I’ve played in and the second time no golf clubs,” he said with a wry smile as he detailed another lost-in-transit episode. “This time, at least I got them a little bit faster. I didn’t actually get them until Wednesday in Pebble Beach a few years ago, so that was a nightmare. Luckily, there was somebody in Canada who went to the airport and gave the airport staff a little kick.”
Phil Mickelson, who has been at the frenzied centre of all things LIV Golf related, was toiling at five-over halfway through his round. He’d probably be happy to slip quietly away into the night.