McIlroy opens with 69 as Shinnecock batters US Open
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- Rory McIlroy opened with a one-under 69, one shot behind unfancied American Sam Stevens, after a bogey-bogey finish failed to dent his strong start in 30mph gusts that included a 396-yard eagle at the par-five fifth.
- Play was delayed two hours by low-lying fog, and only six of the early starters broke par as Shinnecock Hills reasserted its reputation for punishing scoring, with five-inch rough, wispy fescue and fast, undulating greens.
- Scottie Scheffler's bid to become the seventh player to complete the career Grand Slam got off to a frustrating start with a two-over 72, featuring four birdies, four bogeys and a double-bogey on a day his irons repeatedly spun off the greens.
- USGA course set-up chief John Bodenhamer acknowledged the 2004 and 2018 Shinnecock setups were suboptimal and said crews are hosing water onto greens during the opening two rounds to prevent them from drying out.
- Keith Mitchell became the first player in US Open history to card 40 or worse on one nine and break 30 on the other in the same round, recovering from a front-nine 41 with a back-nine 29 to finish at level-par 70.
- Adam Scott became only the second man to play in 100 consecutive men's majors, joining Jack Nicklaus, and opened with a 73, while two-time US Open champion Brooks Koepka, the 2018 Shinnecock winner, carded the same score.
Why it matters: Heading into Friday's later wave, McIlroy — a six-time major winner and defending Masters champion — sits one off the lead on a course where only 9% of the 1,792 rounds played across four previous US Opens have been under par. Scheffler, chasing the career Grand Slam after 161 weeks atop the world rankings, already trails by three with conditions forecast to worsen.
