Rory Not Happy With U.S.G.A. Cutting Down Rough

Good news for Rory McIlroy fans–Rory says he’s fully fit to play this week after battling a sore rib.

“No limitations on my swing whatsoever. Instead of hitting five bags of balls, I’ll hit two, just something like that,” McIlroy said. “It’s not as if I can’t hit balls, it’s just a matter of managing how many repetitions I put through it. I mean, not really many limitations.”

“I think if the field has to hit driver more, as well, that plays into my hands, too,” he said. “I wasn’t crying when I saw that rain last night and this morning. It’s a long golf course, and it’s only going to play longer. That benefits a few guys, and luckily I’m one of them.”

He has a good memory as his big major wins (eight stroke victories) have come on soft and calm conditions.

McIlroy then reacted to the news that mowers were ordered to cut down some of the penal rough. USGA officials cited the recent rain as the reason, while Rory believes it was the player complaints (WHAT?! Players complaining over US Open conditions?).

“We have 60 yards from rough line to rough line. You’ve got 156 of the best players in the world here. If we can’t hit it within that avenue, you might as well pack your bags and go home,” McIlroy said. “These are the widest fairways we’ve ever played in a U.S. Open. Even the first and second cut is another 10 yards on top of that. So if you’ve got 50 or 60 yards to hit into and you’re complaining about the fescue that’s wider than that, I don’t think that’s an issue.”

During a maintenance meeting on Monday afternoon officials addressed how certain types of fescue have a tendency to lay flat when it rains or when the wind blows. As a result, crews “trimmed” portions of the fescue rough on Nos. 4, 12, 14 and 18.

“It’s extreme, even if [the fairway] is 50 yards apart,” Adam Scott said. “It will be interesting to see, but I don’t know how big a difference it will make on the next shot. I don’t know if they cut it short enough that guys can advance it 150 yards or 30 or 200 [yards], but it’s probably nice not to see us trudging through and losing balls as often as you would in the longer grass.”

The USGA’s Championship head of agronomy Darin Bevard offered this rebuttal…

“We’re doing it for playability, visibility and aesthetics. Not to make the course easier, just to make it the way we wanted it to play before the fescues got so high.”

Finally, GolfChannel’s Brandel Chamblee explains why its a no-brainer picking McIlroy to win this week.

“This is the first major he’s played in since 2012 when his putting is not a question. Rory McIlroy for the first time in his career is a good putter.”

Then there is McIlroy’s advantages tee to green. “He’s eliminated the left miss, which has always been his bugaboo,” Chamblee said. “This golf course gives you a little more width off the tee…There’s only one player better tee to green on the PGA Tour, and that player’s not as experienced as Rory is. The fact that he’s putting so well, and the look of this golf course, and the fact that a U.S. Open doesn’t often give you four looks at par fives — guess who leads the pga tour in par five scoring average? Rory McIlroy — everything points to Rory McIlroy.” 

Finally, a quick note if you’re hoping planning on watching golf Monday…Can’t wait for this to get going tomorrow…