BROOKLINE, Mass. (Reuters) – Four-times major winner Rory McIlroy said a positive attitude kept him in contention after a rough start on Friday at the U.S. Open, as he carded a one-under par 69 to head into the weekend one shot off the lead in Brookline.
The Northern Irishman wasted two shots in the rough on the par-four three, whacking his driver into the thick brush off the green only to send the ball forward mere inches. He drained a long putt to stem the pain, settling for a double-bogey.
“You don’t want to try to be making 30-footers for 6s,” said the world number three.
“I stayed patient, and I knew I was going to give myself chances if I just hit the ball the way I have been hitting it. Today was a really good example of just having a good attitude.”
A pair of bogeys and five birdies through the rest of the round kept him in range of twice major winner Collin Morikawa (66), who is tied at the top of the leaderboard with fellow American Joel Dahmen (68).
“I knew I was going to have chances, so I didn’t panic,” he said. “I didn’t do anything stupid. I didn’t force anything. I was rewarded with that patience by playing a really good back nine.”
McIlroy finished the first two rounds tied with defending champion Jon Rahm (67) and Americans Hayden Buckley (68), Aaron Wise (68) and Beau Hossler (67), with Masters champion and world number one Scottie Scheffler (67) on his heels, two strokes back from the lead in a five-way tie for eighth.
“I certainly don’t want it to be easy. I want guys to go out and shoot 65 so I have to go and shoot 64,” said McIlroy. “That’s competition, and that’s at the heart of this game. I’m excited to be in that mix going into the weekend.”
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
