Rory McIlroy Facing Backlash for Behavior at U.S. Open

In the week before the U.S. Open, Rory McIlroy revealed he played Oakmont Country Club and shot an 81 - which would be 11-over in tournament conditions.

“Last Monday felt impossible. I birdied the last two holes for 81,” McIlroy said of his June 2 practice round. “It felt pretty good. It didn’t feel like I played that bad. It’s much more benign right now than it was that Monday. They had the pins in dicey locations, and greens were running at 15½ [on the Stimpmeter used to measure green speeds]. It was nearly impossible."

Heading into his practice rounds, McIlroy admitted the course was playing a bit easier after it accepted a healthy amount of rain in the days leading up to the tournament.

“This morning it was a little softer. The pins aren’t going to be on 3 or 4 percent slopes all the time. If you put it in the fairway, it’s certainly playable," he said. "But then you just have to think about leaving your ball below the hole and just trying to make as many pars as you can. You get yourself in the way of a few birdies, that’s a bonus.”

The first two days of McIlroy's U.S. Open were certainly better than his practice round, but there was still plenty of frustration from the star golfer. After carding a 4-over, 74 in his first round, the five-time major champion started his second round with two double-bogeys in his first three holes to sit at 8-over for the tournament and well outside the cut line.

He played the final 15 holes in 2-under to make the cut, but not before Oakmont got the better of him on two holes. On No. 12 he tossed a club in the fairway before smashing the tee marker on the No. 17 tee.

Here's the tee marker smash.pic.twitter.com/TqCrMbeUHN

— Kyle Porter (@KylePorterNS) June 13, 2025

The comments section was flooded with critical comments regarding McIlroy's conduct on the course.

"A lot of people thought Rory finally winning the grand slam was going to propel him to many more majors, but maybe that was the top and he fades into anonymity," one person suggested.

"Once again proving why he’s so hard to like," added another.

"DQ. USGA needs to take a stand. This will be repeated across the golf universe if they don’t take a stand," offered a third.

McIlroy sits at 6-over and nine shots back of the lead heading into the weekend.

Related: Rory McIlroy, Wife Erica Making Big Change After U.S. Open