Rory McIlroy

The four-time Major winner showed his frustrations on day one at the US Open.

He was two-under-par at the time after 13 holes, having made a superb start to the US Open. Rory's tee shot on the drivable par-4 4th hole nestled in the thick rough on the edge of a bunker and all he could do was duff it out into the next one. He won his maiden Major title at the 2011 US Open and has had a great year in the Majors so far with a 2nd at The Masters, his best ever finish at Augusta National, and an 8th place finish at the PGA Championship. He currently ranks 3rd in the world.

Rory McIlroy had a fantastic round to begin the 2022 U.S. Open at The Country Club, despite an emotional blowup on one hole.

McIlroy birdied the next two holes before he failed to get up and down on 9 to make his only bogey of the day. He pumped his fist as the ball rolled into the cup, which kept him at two under and one back of the early lead. McIlroy, who enters this week coming off a win at the RBC Canadian Open, has four major titles in his career, although none since 2014. McIlroy lost his drive out to the right and it landed in an awkward spot, in gnarly grass, just outside of the bunker. McIlroy started on the back nine at The Country Club and made the turn in two under, and he was still at the number when he arrived to the drivable par-4 5th, his 14th hole of the day. With a bad lie in the thick stuff and his feet well below him, McIlroy hacked out but only advanced the ball a few yards.

Rory McIlroy unleashed his frustration down the stretch in his first round at the 122nd U.S. Open.

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Rory McIlroy found himself in a spot of bother on the fifth hole at The Country Club during the first round of the 122nd U.S. Open in Brookline, ...

I gave the sand a couple of whacks because I’d already messed it up so it wasn’t like it was much more work for Harry, and then I just reset and played a decent bunker shot, and then it was really nice to hole that putt.” “So I was sort of cursing the USGA whenever I was going up to the ball, and then yeah, but it’s one of those things it happens here, it doesn’t really happen anywhere else. Apparently, getting his anger out did the trick because McIlroy exploded his next shot 15 feet past the hole and sank the par putt. McIlroy was forced to take a whack at it while standing in the bunker. He would finish at 3 under, tied for the clubhouse lead. All he was trying to do was take his medicine and pitch it out back to the fairway.

Brad Faxon is one of the best putters in golf history — and he's been helping Rory McIlroy with his putting since 2018.

He just looked so comfortable over the ball, so instinctive and reactive,” he says of Rory. “People see that confidence in Rory over his full shots. They don’t forgo technical work altogether; Rory says he’ll use a mirror about once a week to make sure his eyes are level and don’t angle out to the right, as they tend to do, and that he keeps to make sure he keeps his right elbow into his side more. It all started with a phone call to Faxon, one of the best putters of his or any generation, in 2018. Not as a his coach, but rather, as his peer. That’s helped him find his flow on the greens. “When in reality, 90 percent of what you’re doing with putting happens before you hit the putt.” “My goal was to get him freed-up and confident in his stroke. “Putts like those are huge for momentum,” Rory said after his round. Struggling on the greens, he spent an entire Monday afternoon at the Bears Club in Jupiter with Faxon, and had his best putting week of his season later that week. During his three-under first-round 67 at this week’s U.S. Open, his flatstick helped him gain 4.25 shots on the rest of the field — making it the statistically strongest part of his game during his opening round. You’ll notice how much it breaks at the end.” But as it did, Rory held his follow through.

Rory Mcllroy's cool new shirt couldn't stop his tempers from flaring up during the first round of the U.S. Open on Thursday.

Two holes later, McIlroy made birdie to grab a share of the early lead before following with another at the par-5 eighth to move in front by himself. But things briefly went sour for McIlroy after his tee shot on the drivable par-4 fifth hole at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass., landed in a patch of thick fescue on the face of a bunker. But whatever anger the 2011 U.S. Open champ did have seemed to subside quickly.

Rory McIlroy shot an opening-round 3-under 67 at the U.S. Open on Thursday, saying he is not motivated by the threat of the LIV Golf Invitational Series but ...

"Again, some of these reactions that maybe you saw out there today, whether it be hitting the sand on 5 or the club throw on 9, you just have to be so precise and so exact at this golf tournament, maybe compared to some others," McIlroy said. It was the 21st victory of his career, which moved him past Norman in career wins. He pushed his approach shot to the right of the green and threw his club in frustration. But, yeah, you're going to encounter things this week that you don't usually come across the other weeks of the year, and you just have to try to accept them as best you can." After making birdies on Nos. 7 and 8 to move to 4-under, McIlroy lost his cool again on the par-4 ninth, his final hole. "I'm just being me. "I gave the sand a couple of whacks because I'd already messed it up, so it wasn't like it was much more work for [caddie] Harry [Diamond]," McIlroy said. The margins are just so fine in this tournament, and I think you can sort of see that out there with some of the reactions." "You're going to encounter things at a U.S. Open, whether they be lies or stuff like that, that you just don't really encounter any other week," McIlroy said. It was an eventful opening round for McIlroy at the golf course outside Boston. He started on the back nine and carded a bogey-free, 2-under 33. It's certainly a different mindset when you get off to a good start, and yeah, I've just got to keep it going." With an opening-round 3-under 67, McIlroy put himself in great position to do just that.

Rory McIlroy unleashed his frustration down the stretch in his first round at the 122nd U.S. Open.

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Rory McIlroy signed for a three-under-par 67 to share the clubhouse lead on the first day of the US Open at Brookline.

“They were like a hole or hole and a half behind the group in front of them. Luckily there was somebody in Canada who went to the airport and gave the airport staff a little kick, and they arrived on Sunday at 2pm. “The margins are just so fine in this tournament and I think you can see that out there with some of the reactions.” On day one at the Country Club there were flashes of McIlroy brilliance and flashes of McIlroy frustration. “You feel like you’re right in the tournament from the start of the week, which is nice,” said the four-time major winner. There is precious little that could switch the discussion around golf from matters of Saudi Arabia, a rebel tour and the resulting grisly civil war.

The four-time major champion shot 3 under on Thursday to open play at The Country Club.

As the U.S. Open finds its footing, though, it will be nice to shelve the talk of brouhahas and scuttlebutt between organizations that are fighting an inequitable yet inevitable war. "I was sort of cursing the USGA whenever I was going up to the ball. A major championship that, based on the unintended consequences of the dilution of regular season golf, now means more than ever before. Surely shouldering the dynamic load of an entire sport has eroded his emotions in ways he might not even be able to recognize right now. "You're going to encounter things at a U.S. Open, whether they be lies or stuff like that, that you just don't really encounter any other week," said McIlroy of the 5th hole. After his round, he called out the players in front of his group for being slow and explained why he was so frustrated. His game gives his words gravity, and gravity rules the world. Though he's not exempt from criticism for club tossing and sand excavation projects, it's also a bit of a delight to see somebody who at times has seemed as if was sleepwalking at major championships clear-eyes and completely engaged. Rory then birdied No. 7 and No. 8 to drive his scored to 4 under before a frustrating bogey at the last led to a club toss and some words that NBC wouldn't be able to air even if desired. "Almost to remind yourself sometimes how much it means to you as well." On Thursday, in the first round of the 122nd U.S. Open, he reminded everyone why his words carry such weight. The four-time major winner is in an eight-year drought when it comes to winning big ones, but McIlroy entered the week playing as well as he's played in years.

Rory McIlroy patiently overcomes anger, obstacles to grab a share of the 2022 U.S. Open lead at The Country Club near Boston.

“You feel like you’re right in the tournament from the start of the week, which is nice,” McIlroy said about getting off to a good start in a major. And McIlroy could become the first in the game’s history to win a PGA Tour event the week before winning the U.S. Open. “I’m going into tomorrow 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. It’s certainly a different mindset when you get off to a good start. McIlroy shared the early lead with Callum Tarren, David Lingmerth and Joel Dahmen. The week didn’t start well for Tarren as his clubs didn’t arrive with him from Toronto. It was the second time at a U.S. Open his clubs weren’t with him after a flight. He also opened both of his major victories with scores in the 60s. In the 2019 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, he didn’t get his clubs until the day before the tournament started. Just basically did everything that you need to do at a U.S. Open.” But McIlroy collected himself and made a 13-footer for par to keep momentum on his side. So I was sort of cursing the USGA. “The thickest rough on the course is around the edges of the bunkers. And then he swatted the ball 10 yards into another bunker and took some mighty whacks at the sand in frustration.

Rory McIlroy, a vocal opponent of the Saudi-financed LIV Golf league, put in a solid effort during the first round of the U.S. Open.

He couldn’t save par on that one and had to accept a 67 — not a bad start, and no apologies for his few outbursts of emotion. For McIlroy, it was his second straight major — and third time in his last four U.S. Opens — he opened with a score par. He hit that into another bunker, and then twice slammed the club into the sand out of frustration. Collin Morikawa, trying to win a major for the third straight year, thought he might be able to take it deep — at least by U.S. Open standards — when he birdied the ninth hole to reach 3 under. McIlroy has become a leading voice on the PGA Tour over the last few years, particularly with his rebuke of the Saudi-funded series that is disrupting golf. Even with a good start, and coming off a victory last week in the Canadian Open, it doesn’t figure to be easy.

Rory McIlroy is both thoughtful in his reasoning and eloquent in his rejection when it comes to the Saudi-funded LIV Golf series.

If you don’t get off to a great start those thoughts start to creep in—okay, what do I need to just be here for the weekend? There are plenty of others in the locker room who’d be lucky to check a couple of those boxes. McIlroy’s performance Thursday, and that last week in Toronto, illustrated the difference between a simple mind and an uncluttered one. Even those who aren’t planning to decamp to the deplorables can’t escape the grinding of the rumor mill. Other prominent players have stood with him in that—Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm, Will Zalatoris, to name but three—but it’s McIlroy who has largely become the apostolic leader of the resistance. The only people seemingly inspired to play better golf under the specter of LIV Golf have been its opponents.

Rory McIlroy has been one of the most outspoken critics of LIV Golf, and he's been on a tear since the league hosted its first event.

When McIlroy’s 30-footer for birdie dropped into the cup, he let out a small fist pump and raised his putter to the sky. He continued to vent his frustrations by taking a few lashes at the sand, sending sediment flying into the air. (“F—!” he said.) With the ball well above his feet, he lashed at it and sent it careening into another bunker some 10 yards closer to the green. There was a certain edge to McIlroy between the ropes at The Country Club on Thursday morning — and he wasn’t shy about showing it. But instead of gravity pulling the ball into the deep bunker, a thick tuft of rough suspended the ball over the lip. This is the U.S. Open. A win here would have a different gravitas in the fight for the soul of pro golf.

Do you take the players known only to golf eggheads and ranked 592nd, 445th, 296th, 130th or 105th? Do you take the English bloke ranked 445th whose clubs got ...

The more you do it, the more you get used to it.” They all got golf clubs, so it was the second U.S. Open I’ve played in, and the second time, no golf clubs.” He got it solved by Monday with help from some of those 38 million helpful souls: Canadians. Five holes in with no wind, defending champion Jon Rahm had himself a moment when, he said, “I was thinking, ‘We’re going to blow the roof off this place.’ ” Reigning British Open champion Collin Morikawa, a two-time major winner at 25, called it “gettable,” a word shelved if not condemned at most U.S. Opens. Both shot 1-under 69s. “This has been a year in the making, really,” Hadwin said. “It’s been eight years since I won a major, and I just want to get my hands on one again.” I wasn’t all-American. I wasn’t the best. But I’m pretty stubborn, and I’m not one to give up.” There have been some tough days, not going to lie, and you kind of start asking yourself those questions. Do you take the English bloke ranked 445th whose clubs got stuck at the Toronto airport so he had to walk around here Sunday with just a wedge? I think because of that, I’m a bit more at ease.” The group stood thick and populous beneath Hadwin’s 66 even though it lost Fitzpatrick, the hip pick of cognoscenti, when he bogeyed No. 18. Do you take the players known only to golf eggheads and ranked 592nd, 445th, 296th, 130th or 105th?

Rory McIlroy's win at last week's RBC Canadian Open included a rare mid-tournament equipment switch. It was the latest edition of a battle between two ...

Since that testing session at home, McIlroy has used the Stealth model as his higher spinning 3-wood option, and the SIM as his lower spinning option. …I’ll hit 3-wood maybe a couple times, but the 5-wood is probably just a better club for quite a few holes here.” Based on that testing session, McIlroy concluded that he preferred the higher spin rates of the larger-sized Stealth model versus the Stealth Plus he used initially. “There’s a few opportunities to hit drivers here, but I think it’s just so important to get it in the fairway,” McIlroy told GolfWRX. “I can carry the 5 wood 270-275 in the air off the tee. As a quick refresher, TaylorMade’s SIM Ti (Titanium) fairway woods hit retail in February 2020, and McIlroy has been using the 3-wood off and on ever since. A little more in control. A little more spin. … (The Stealth is) a little more workable. It’s either you lay back quite a lot with a 5-wood, or you get it up there with a driver. It’s a little weaker, a little spinnier, sort of more just to get it in play,” McIlroy told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday. “The SIM is a little hotter, a little lower spin, sort of get it out there a little more. “I (used) the SIM (in Canada), I just didn’t hit it much last week,” McIlroy told GolfWRX on Wednesday. “There was honestly no real need for a 3-wood last week, just with the yardage. Rory McIlroy’s win at last week’s RBC Canadian Open included a rare mid-tournament equipment switch.