McGinley on post Masters McIlroy: "His resilience has always been underestimated"

Rory McIlroy on the 12th green during the PGA Championship Practice Round at Quail Hollow Club on Wednesday, May 14, 2025 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/PGA of America)

Brutal Oakmont is considered the toughest of all US Open venues for its thick rough, sloping fairways and marble-top greens that make Augusta's look tame by comparison.

The greens are so fast, in fact, that the stimpmeter was developed by Edward Stimpson shortly after attending the 1935 US Open there,

There's perhaps no better examination in the game for Irish golf's two superstars, Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, as they arrive in Steel City at the peak of their golfing maturity.

McIlroy's well-chronicled and so far fruitless search for a driver he can put in play is the big talking point as far as the Co Down man's current form.

Is he sated after completing the career Grand Slam at Augusta? Can he find a driver that will keep him out of the ferocious Oakmont rough and win another US Open at the most storied of venues and join the likes of Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan and Jack Nicklaus, not to mention Johnny Miller, Ernie Els, Angel Cabrera and Dustin Johnson, on the list of championship winners there?

Was that Friday 78 at the RBC Canadian Open a sign that his grand slam achievement has left him struggling for motivation? Or a mere technical hitch?

Pride, one suspects, will likely bring him back to his pre-Masters brilliance, but whether he has time to get back there this week is debatable.

He missed the cut in 2016 when Lowry famously took a four-shot lead into the final round but finished second, three shots behind Dustin Johnson and left disappointed before realising he had the game to win a major.

"I'd be very proud if I won on a golf course like this," McIlroy said nine years ago before shooting rounds of 77 and 71 to miss the cut. "The majors that I have won have been soft and under par and more suited to my style of game.

"But to be able to win on a course like this with the conditions the way they are, it would probably be my, I don't know, maybe my biggest accomplishment in the game. But it definitely would make me feel like a more complete player, I guess.

"I think with experience, you learn what a good score is on that particular day or, if you're not playing so well, how to just grind it out and make pars and try to get it in the clubhouse at a respectable score.

"And I feel like just over the years, I've learned how to do that a little bit better. That just comes with playing tournaments and being experienced and knowing what the conditions are like."

It beggars belief that McIlroy has never won a tournament where the winning score was in the single digits under par.

But he has finished in the top 10 in his last six US Open starts, including those frustrating second-place finishes in 2023 in LA and last year, when late missed putts cost him the title at Pinehurst No. 2.

While Lowry did not want to hear the tales of woe from the early scouting reports on the carnage that awaits, it's expected to be another war of attrition.

But that doesn't mean that McIlroy should be rolling over and handing the title to a ball-striking machine like Scottie Scheffler, or even Lowry.

He's a different player these days.

"Rory plays best when he's on the front foot, playing aggressively and taking on the golf course," Paul McGinley told GolfWRX's Gianni Magliocco last week. "It's a style of golf that is charismatic, engaging, and exciting. It's the reason he's many people's favourite player to watch.

"While it's a style of golf that comes naturally to him, it's also a style that leans away from the dog fighting, patient style that is often required to win a US Open.

"I do feel, however, that he is much better equipped now than ever before to play this style of golf. The proof is that we now see him winning events with his B game like he did this year at TPC Sawgrass — as he found a way to dig out scores when not quite on his game.

"This US Open will be a really good opportunity to watch and assess this newfound versatility as a player. His resilience has always been underestimated, and the fact that he is a more complete player now than at any other stage in his career gives reason to believe that he is more capable of winning on tougher setups now than ever before."

It's easy to see why Scheffler, the methodical, relentless tactician, is the favourite.

"Scottie has wonderful ball control and comfort in shaping the ball any way required from his driver to his wedge," McGinley said. "That's a huge advantage on a US Open setup.

"Throw in his brilliance around the green as well as the huge improvement in his putting, and technically it's hard to find fault. However, the biggest asset that Scottie has is confidence in his mental game. He knows how to be patient and how to employ strategies to aid this mental mindset.

"Let's also not forget the importance that his caddie, Ted Scott, plays in the whole Scottie equation. Ted brings a lot to the table in terms of moral support, Scottie's tendencies, and strategy. Remember, Scottie's career exploded right after Ted became his caddie."

Mental discipline is one thing, but patience is another, and if there's a doubt about Lowry, it's his tendency to hit the self-destruct button when the breaks aren't going his way.

He's his own harshest critic, and as he heads towards his forties, he may wonder how many more chances he will have to add to his 2019 Open win.

No-one, bar Scheffler, has his control with the irons right now and if he can get out of his own way, only a poor putting week can keep him off the leaderboard.

After all,  Lee Trevino once claimed he felt he was overtaking someone on the leaderboard every time he two-putted at Oakmont.

Rain is forecast early this week, which could widen the list of contenders.

"A soft golf course will bring a lot more players into the equation, whereas a firm golf course suits the big hitters," McGinley said.

Lowry knows it's going to be tough. But he also knows he can conquer it.

"The first time I played Oakmont was the Sunday before the US Open 2016," he recalled. "My coach was with me, and we teed off on 10. We got around to 14, which is up beside the clubhouse, and I walked in. And I sat there in the locker room going, I have no idea how I'm going to play golf around this place.

"And then six days later, I had a four-shot lead going into the final round."