Oakmont is well-known for its punishing, thick rough, standing almost 13cm tall and manicured in such a way that the ball will sink into it rather than sit on top.
The greens and fairways are also lightning quick, and the contours of the course mean any shots not hit in the right spots will usually be punished. It makes for great viewing as the world’s best golfers struggle around the course.
In his second round of this year’s tournament, finding himself battling to stay within the cut line again, McIlroy let his emotions show.
Sitting at eight-over with six holes to play, the Northern Irishman sent his second shot on the par-four 12th – an iron from 283m out – into the rough, flinging his club away down the fairway in frustration.
He managed to stay composed when it mattered most, however, as he clawed his score back for six-under by the end of the round to qualify for the weekend’s action.
Irishman Shane Lowry, who was in a group with McIlroy and England’s Justin Rose, wasn’t quite as fortunate.
Lowry, who finished tied for second at the 2016 tournament, struggled from start to finish in his two rounds at Oakmont this week, posting a tournament score of 17-over to miss the cut.
During his second round, Lowry was penalised a stroke for picking his ball up off the green before putting a marker down; a look of embarrassed guilt on his face as he immediately realised what he had done.
World No 1 Scottie Scheffler wasn’t without issues, either, and was seen having an animated discussion with his swing coach after his second round – although it was an improvement on his first and means he will move on to the weekend action at four-over.
“I feel like I battled really hard,” Scheffler said.
“It’s challenging out there. I was not getting the ball in the correct spots and paying the price for it. [I] felt like me getting away with one-over today wasn’t all that bad. It could have been a lot worse”
Kiwi Ryan Fox made the cut after navigating his way around the course at five-over through two rounds. He posted on social media after his second round, saying: “Oakmont is hard! But on to my 10th major weekend in a row.”
Several big names joined world No 12 Lowry in missing the cut. Former US Open winners Rose, Johnson, Wyndham Clar, and Bryson DeChambeau won’t feature in the championship rounds, nor will fan-favourites Min Woo Lee, Phil Mickelson, Ludvig Aberg and Cameron Smith.
Sam Burns, who Fox beat in a four-hole playoff to win last week’s RBC Canadian Open, led the field at the halfway stage. The American was living up to his title of being the best putter by strokes gained on the PGA Tour and carded a five-under-par 65 to move to three-under for the tournament and leads by one shot.
And with rain forecast before the third round, Oakmont might get more challenging still.
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.
