Rory McIlroy faces an uphill battle at the U.S. Open after a back-nine collapse turned a promising start into a four-over 74 at Oakmont.
Rory McIlroy heads into the second round of the 2025 U.S. Open with plenty of work to do after a back-nine collapse saw him tumble down the Oakmont leaderboard.
The Masters champion looked sharp early on Thursday, carding a bogey-free 33 over his opening nine holes to briefly share the lead.
But his round unraveled late, as six dropped shots over his final eight holes left him with a four-over 74 – his worst U.S. Open start since 2018.
McIlroy, a runner-up in this championship the past two years and a top-10 finisher every year since 2019, had started brightly.
Opening on the back nine, he found rhythm off the tee and made birdies at 11 and 12. His ball-striking remained solid – he hit 13 of 18 greens – but he couldn’t avoid trouble once he made the turn.
A three-putt at the 1st was the first sign of trouble, and he struggled to recover after hacking out of thick fescue on the par-five 4th.
Bogeys at 6 and 7 were followed by a costly double at the long par-three 8th, where he left a pitch in the rough.
Rory Mcilroy To Miss The Cut Odds
Rory McIlroy is currently a best price of 21/10 with Sky Bet to miss the cut at the US Open.
Despite almost leading the field in driving distance (336.3 yards), McIlroy’s flat stick let him down, his 34 putts put him well outside the top 100 in strokes gained on the green.
It marked his fifth consecutive round of 71 or worse on Tour, a worrying trend for a player looking to avoid back-to-back missed cuts for the first time in 13 years.
McIlroy tees off Friday afternoon at 6:25 p.m. needing a sharp turnaround to make the weekend.
Only three of the last 26 U.S. Open winners have been more than four shots back after round one.
At eight adrift of JJ Spaun, he’ll need to channel the same comeback spirit that saw him overturn a seven-shot deficit to win the Masters or risk seeing his bid for a second major of the season end before it ever really began.
