Rory 7 back, says anything possible at Shinnecock
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- Rory McIlroy enters Saturday's third round of the 126th U.S. Open seven strokes behind leader Wyndham Clark after a 1-over 71 Friday left him at even par through 36 holes.
- McIlroy made three consecutive bogeys on Nos. 10-12 after turning at 2-under 33, blading a 79-yard lob wedge near a drain on the par-4 10th and flying a pitching wedge 57 feet past the pin on the 154-yard 11th.
- McIlroy briefly recovered with back-to-back birdies on Nos. 13 and 14 — including a tap-in on 13 and a 43-foot putt from native grass on 14 — before a double-bogey 6 on the 15th wiped out the gains.
- Brooks Koepka trailed by five strokes at the midway point of the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock, a precedent McIlroy cited to argue a seven-shot gap 'is definitely' surmountable on this course.
- McIlroy said the course demands conservative play — 'you can't go chasing pins around here' — conceding he was 'a little too aggressive' to the pins on the 11th and 12th greens.
Why it matters: McIlroy's three-bogey stretch on holes 10-12 and a double-bogey on 15 wiped out a 2-under front nine, leaving him seven back on a course where he admits aggressive play gets punished. With 36 holes left and Shinnecock's history of wild leaderboard swings, Saturday's conditions and his own discipline around the pins will decide whether his Koepka comparison holds or he simply plays for a consolation finish.
