OAKMONT, Pa. – Rory McIlroy wrapped up an otherwise uninspired week at the U.S. Open with a 3-under 67 — his best round by five shots at Oakmont — for some much-needed momentum headed into the year’s final major.
McIlroy struggled to rounds of 74-72-74 to begin the U.S. Open and completed his week before the final group teed off on Sunday. He was tied for 26th after his round.
“I feel like I’ve driven the ball well all week. After the way I drove it today, I’d say I finished in the top 5 in strokes gained: off the tee,” said McIlroy, who was actually third in strokes gained: off the tee and led the field in driving distance. “Really encouraged with the driver and how I drove it as well. It’s not necessarily the driver, it’s more me and sort of where my swing was.
“I feel like I got a really good feeling in my swing with the driver, which was great.”
McIlroy is scheduled to play next week’s Travelers Championship, the season’s final signature event on the PGA Tour, before heading to the United Kingdom for next month’s Scottish Open and Open Championship, which will be played at Northern Ireland’s Royal Portrush.
The world No. 2 has struggled since winning the Masters in April and becoming just the sixth player to complete the career Grand Slam. He finished tied for 47th at the PGA Championship and missed the cut last week at the RBC Canadian Open. McIlroy has talked on multiple occasions about the challenges of setting new goals following his career accomplishment in April.
“Look, I climbed my Everest in April, and I think after you do something like that, you’ve got to make your way back down, and you’ve got to look for another mountain to climb. An Open at Portrush is certainly one of those,” said McIlroy, who missed the cut in 2019 the last time The Open was played at Royal Portrush.
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