Circumstances may have aligned for a Hollywood McIlroy moment at US Open
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Hordes of workers were already busy dismantling a corner of Oakdale Golf and Country Club before Rory McIlroy and the other leaders had even begun their final rounds at the RBC Canadian Open on Sunday afternoon.
The Toronto tournament had hosted a huge concert after play on both Friday and Saturday night in what is usually a driving range. The Black Eyed Peas and Alanis Morissette were the headliners, both acts past their pomp but nonetheless keeping the galleries happy by banging out the classics.
The star power will be raised significantly however when McIlroy touches down to his next destination on Monday morning. The US Open has a new home in the shape of Los Angeles Country Club, a green oasis in the absolute heart of tinseltown, off Santa Monica Boulevard with the Beverly Hilton in the front garden.
The Holywood to Hollywood headlines could write themselves but it’s important not to reach for low-hanging fruit. McIlroy is an athlete who is relentless in reaching higher, which has made the now nine-year Major drought such a source of pain and regret.
The season’s third Major offers the 34-year-old his latest chance to scratch the itch. After a week when the world of golf was knocked off its axis, McIlroy has found equilibrium where he generally finds it best — out on the fairways. In his quest to notch another career first and win a tournament three times in a row, the defending Canadian Open champion dazzled and delighted the Toronto crowds with a stretch of 42 blemish-free holes from Thursday morning through to the start of Sunday afternoon, carding 13 birdies and 29 pars to put himself firmly in final-round contention.
More importantly, McIlroy looked to be finding a real groove at Oakdale, finding a headspace that he’ll take to Beverly Hills and its brightest lights. Circumstances both beyond and within his control may just have aligned perfectly for a Hollywood moment. Here are some key factors that look to be in McIlroy’s favour…
The PGA Tour-Saudi Arabia bombshell landed before McIlroy had even got to Oakdale this week and by the time he stepped up to Wednesday’s press conference, he looked utterly deflated.
The questions haven’t gone away with so much detail and development still to come from both sides of golf’s new alliance but McIlroy has slowly but steadily thrived amid the chaos of it all. When he triumphed in Toronto last year, he did so against the backdrop of LIV’s first-ever event and there was no doubt that it drove McIlroy on. With a relatively weaker field here in Canada this year there are many of the game’s leading voices who are yet to speak about the stunning LIV link-up meaning things will be even more hectic than usual at throughout the early part of the week in LA. Which, it turns out, might suit McIlroy just fine.
“For whatever reason I seem to play better when there's a little bit of noise going in the world of golf,” he said after Saturday’s superb 66. “It's really nice to get inside the ropes and just concentrate on my job, which is trying to get the ball around the golf course. It's been a nice reprieve with everything else going on, I’m happy to be playing well.”
McIlroy had never even played Oakdale from 1 to 18 until Friday’s second round when he scorched it for a 67 that could have been plenty lower. Similarly he’s never taken a step at LACC, his only insight of the venue coming from YouTube footage.
“I like reacting to what I'm seeing out there,” he explained on Friday. “I'm not saying I'm better at playing a course blind, but sometimes it's nice not to know where the trouble is.”
He’s certain to like a lot of what he sees when he does arrive in Beverly Hills. The North Course at LACC has been described as a masterpiece and ‘one of the best courses the world has never seen’. It looks very inviting, the Bermuda grass not growing nearly as thick as hoped meaning the rough is unlikely to be punitive. Bermuda is more familiar to courses closer to McIlroy’s Florida home and its return to a US Open track for the first time since 2005 comes at a nice time for the World No.3.
When he faltered in the final round of the Memorial earlier this month, a lot of it was down to some wretched wedge play, the shorter clubs not feeling great in the hands for a lot of this season.
On Thursday here he was again hot and cold with his wedges but a range session at Oakdale has worked wonders. On strokes gained from approaches to the green McIlroy went from 114th in the field Thursday to 55th Friday and 9th on Saturday when the wedges were really singing.
"I really struggled with that part of the game on Thursday but went and did some practice Thursday afternoon,” explained McIlroy. “I got a good feel and definitely the approach play over the last couple days has been a lot better.”
The par-70 LACC is unorthodox in its set-up with five par 3s and three par 5s. If McIlroy can keep his wedges firing then ending the Major drought becomes much more possible. Perhaps the noise is only beginning to ratchet up.
