MCILROY UPBEAT AHEAD OF US OPEN AT SHINNECOCK HILLS
Rory McIlroy during his press conference at Shinnecock Hills where he is hoping to win a second US Open title (Photo: DP World Tour Tour/Getty)
Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy is confident European golf can maintain its dominance on the Major stage as he targets a long-awaited second US Open title at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club this week.
After retaining his Masters title in April, England’s Aaron Rai won the US PGA Championship last month as players from the Continent realised a historic milestone by claiming the first two men’s Majors in the era of the four current championships for the first time.
McIlroy, champion in 2011, will again lead the European charge at Shinnecock Hills in New York, with the 37-year-old playing the first two rounds alongside winning Ryder Cup team-mates Tommy Fleetwood and Ludvig Åberg.
The last time three Europeans won three Majors in a season was in 2014 when McIlroy won both the US PGA Championship and The Open, either side of a triumph for Martin Kaymer at the US Open.
McIlroy is one of 10 players from Europe in the top 20 in the world rankings, raising hopes this year's momentum can be continued over what is an exposed links-style test amid the potential for an unprecedented UK clean sweep.
"There's a lot of talented golfers coming out of Europe and out of the UK," McIlroy said in his pre-tournament press conference on Tuesday. "Aaron has definitely forged his own path and done it his own way. It was amazing to see him do what he did at Aronimink.
"Obviously [for] the European golfers, the majority of our golf is in the United States, three of the four Majors are here. I think just over time we've got a lot more comfortable with the style of golf that you need to play and the set-ups around here.
"A historic start to the Major season for golfers from that part of the world, and I would say this is more a UK/European style of test than certainly the first two Majors at Augusta and Aronimink.
"So it certainly wouldn't surprise me to see a few players from Europe and the UK in contention on Sunday."
McIlroy is this week making his 18th US Open appearance and second at Shinnecock, where he missed the cut in 2018 after a first-round 80 amid gusty winds.
Having won his first Major, and the first of four across as many seasons, at this event 15 years ago, he earned just one top ten and missed four cuts in the next seven US Opens.
However, he has six top 10s in his last seven appearances, including runner-up finishes to Wyndham Clark and Bryson DeChambeau in 2023 and 2024 respectively.
That consistent run of results is something he puts down to a more patient approach at what is often described as the toughest Major set-up - an approach he will stick to again.
"This course, it demands so much patience, and it can really lure you into taking on things that you probably shouldn't," he said.
"It looks like we're going to get some pretty heavy wind for a couple of days anyway. If you can get your ball to the middle of the greens here and just putt to the corners wherever the flags are going to be, that's never going to be a bad strategy.
"That's the strategy that I've employed at the US Open over the past few years and that's served me well.
"It hasn't gotten me the trophy, but it's gotten me pretty close a few years. But I definitely feel like I've become a lot better of a US Open player by trying to really stay patient throughout the week and not taking on too much."
On the last two occasions America's national championship has been staged at Shinnecock, (2004 and 2018), there has been an outcry among several players about the putting surfaces.
And McIlroy, who made a scouting visit two weeks ago, believes Shinnecock can be "the best championship test in the country" if the set-up is right, as the course "tests all aspects of the game".
"We've seen what's happened here the last two US Opens," he said. "It doesn't need to get that fast to play incredibly difficult and challenging. I'd say the greens yesterday probably averaged about 11.5. They certainly don't need to be any faster than that.
"I think with the wind they're expecting on Thursday, I'd say it seems they'd want to get the greens back to the 10/10.5, something like that, just because of how heavy the wind is going to be, gusts of 35 to 40 miles an hour.
"There were only gusts of 25 to 30 yesterday, and balls wouldn't stand on the 11th green. That's where you just have to use a little bit of caution."