ERIN, Wis. Somebody fetch Rory McIlroys suitcase.And get Jason Days ready while youre at it.Who knew McIlroys words from earlier in the week would echo so cruelly over Thursdays start to the U.S. Open. Who knew McIlroy and Day would spend so much time slashing their way out of so many gnarly lies in the deep fescue at Erin Hills in their pairing together? Who knew two of the best drivers in the world would struggle to hit the widest fairways anyone can remember at a U.S. Open?McIlroy shot 6-over-par 78, Day shot 79.Those are the worst scores either has ever posted in this championship.We have 60 yards [of width in the fairways]. . . Youve got 156 of the best players in the world here. If we cant hit it within that avenue, you might as well pack your bags and go home.Thats what McIlroy said Tuesday when he learned the USGA was carving back wide swaths of fescue less than 48 hours before the start of the championship, to lessen the punishment for errant drives.His words came boomeranging back in the first round.Though McIlroy and Day arent heading home just yet, theyll be packing soon enough if they dont rebound in big ways on Friday.McIlroy is six shots over the projected cut line, Day is seven over.McIlroy was asked about his comments about the fescue afterward.
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The fairways should be wide enough for me to hit it into them, I just didnt, McIlroy said. It was just one of those days. I was just a little bit off.McIlroy hit only 5 of 14 fairways. Remarkably, given McIlroys superior driving skills, nobody hit fewer fairways in the first round.I dont think I hit a fairway after the 10th, didnt hit one on the way in, McIlroy said. You cannot play this golf course if you are not in position off the tee, and I wasnt in position.McIlroy said the rib injury that caused him to take so much time off this year wasnt an issue.It was all totally fine, he said. I was hacking it around in the rough and didnt feel it one bit. Bit of rust, timing was a little off.Day hit nine fairways, but that wasnt very good given the 60-yard width of Erin Hills fairways. He ranked 107th in driving accuracy.Found some pretty awkward looks out there, Day said.The long, thick fescue is among the most penal grasses players have seen in a U.S. Open.Day made two triple bogeys for the first time in a single round in his professional career. That covers 676 rounds.I just played bad golf, man, said Day, who won his only major here in Wisconsin at the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits two years ago. I cant put it any other way.McIlroy won the U.S. Open at Congressional in 2011 in an eight-shot runaway, one of his four major championship titles. Now, hes in danger of missing back-to-back cuts in this championship. He missed the cut at Oakmont last year.After making eagle at the second hole Thursday, McIlroy went on to make a pair of double bogeys and a pair of bogeys.And it all started so well, McIlroy said.Day has never missed the cut in a U.S. Open. He has five top-10 finishes in his six previous starts in this championship.Two triples, I don't know, its weird, Day said. It's not like I gave up. I actually gave it 100 percent all the way through the end, and I shot 79.
Jun 13, 2017 · ERIN, Wis. — The US Golf Association decided to make Erin Hills a little bit easier for this week's US Open. But not everyone was happy about it. Groundskeepers spent Tuesday morning trimming
Rory McIlroy dismayed at US Open course changes - RTE.ie
Erin Hills' generous fairways come with steep price for missing. Players are finding it's a great course so long as you stay out of the long, thick fescue that lines the fairways.
RORY McIlroy's comments on the decision to cut down heavy rough at Erin Hills came back to haunt him as he struggled to an opening 78 in the 117th US Open. Tall fescue grass on the fourth, 12th
Erin Hills' generous fairways come with steep price for missing
Na gets the last laugh on Rory. Kevin Na's only drop in the long fescue all day in Round 1 of the U.S. Open came at the seventh hole. was the one who came away from Erin Hills on Thursday
Confident Rory Dismisses Critics of Fescue Rough at Erin Hills
Rory McIlroy, getting ready to bundle up his satchels and head home after two ugly days at Erin Hills, may want a mulligan on his pre-tourney taunts regarding those whining about the tough rough
Golf -- Kevin Na gets the last laugh on Rory McIlroy at 117th
Rory McIlroy dismayed at US Open course changes to cut down heavy rough on four holes at Erin Hills ahead of the US Open. Tall fescue grass on the fourth, 12th, 14th and 18th holes was being
Rory McIlroy shocked by decision to cut down heavy rough at
Rory McIlroy had the bravado to shrug off the signature feature of Erin Hills, and the U.S. Open host course's unforgiving rough apparently didn't take kindly to that. The lengthy fescue that
Rory McIlroy hacks his way out of Erin Hills after scoffing
Four-time major champion Rory McIlroy has dismisses critics of the thick, fescue rough that has been widely documented at this weeks U.S. Open, after the USGA had decided to cut back much of the long grass on four holes at Erin Hills.
You're going to hear a lot about fescue at the US Open. Here
Rory McIlroy has expressed his dismay at the decision of tournament organisers to cut down heavy rough on four holes at Erin Hills two days before the start of the US Open. Tall fescue grass on
US Open: tall order after shock start for Rory McIlroy
Rory McIlroy (78) and Jason Day (79) had a rough time in their opening rounds at Erin Hills on Thursday. McIlroy found the fewest fairways of anyone in the field (five).
Rory McIlroy paid dearly for tempting the U.S. Open fescue
Rory, Day are hacks (literally) in Erin Hills fescue
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