McIlroy urges US Open not to let greens ‘get out of hand’

Rory McIlroy hopes US Open officials do not let the green speeds “get too out of hand” as he feels they are already fast enough.

The six-time major winner stopped off at Shinnecock Hills on Long Island in New York on Monday on his way to this week’s Memorial Tournament in Ohio.

He was pleasantly surprised by the generous width of the fairways, unsurprised by the depth of the rough and happy enough with how the notoriously-tricky greens were playing.

But with the forecast showing almost two weeks of sun with temperatures in the low to mid-20s degrees Celsius and little rain, McIlroy does not want things to speed up much more.

A number of US Open courses in the past have had putting surfaces so slick balls have rolled off them and the last time Shinnecock hosted in 2018 Phil Mickelson was handed a two-shot penalty after jogging after his ball to hit it while it was still moving to prevent it disappearing off the false front.

“The fairways are very generous. They’re more generous than they were in 2018 but the first cut of rough is five inches long,” said McIlroy.

“The greens are rolling around 11, 11.2 (anything over 12 is considered fast and last year’s US Open at Oakmont was between 13 and 14), something like that and I really don’t think they need to get much faster.

“I think if they can keep them at that speed they can get them firm and use the hole locations that they want to use without having some of the struggles that they have had the last couple of US Opens.

“It’s all about them just maintaining the green speeds really where they are and not getting them too out of hand and I think it will be a great week.”

McIlroy is playing only his sixth regular PGA Tour event of the year as he continues to tailor his schedule to his personal circumstances.

He is not concerned how changes next season will affect him but does accept playing less reduces his chances of winning the money-spinning end-of-year FedEx Cup.

“I would back myself to finish in that top 100 or whatever it is (to retain his status) if I play a limited schedule,” he added.

“Does it mean it makes it harder for myself to win the FedEx Cup or whatever the season-long title race is going to be called? Absolutely, but I’m OK with that because it brings balance to my life and lets me enjoy things outside of the game.”

World number one Scottie Scheffler is looking for a third successive win at the tournament in Muirfield, hosted by 18-time major winner Jack Nicklaus.

“The last two years don’t mean much when you stand on the first tee,” he said.

“But this is a golf course I’ve had some success at and this will be a cool place to be able to accomplish something like winning the same tournament three years in a row, especially with it being Jack’s place.”