Rory McIlroy opted out of media duties again following a disappointing first-round at the US Open.
The 125th US Open at Oakmont kicked off on Thursday, with high expectations for a high-scoring major. While J.J. Spaun, who previously lost to McIlroy in a three-hole playoff at The PLAYERS, surged ahead with a four-under par lead, several big names stumbled.
McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau had a memorable face-off for the US Open title at Pinehurst No. 2, with the American emerging victorious in a thrilling finish.
The Northern Irishman made a quick exit following his heartbreak – a scenario that has repeated itself a year later.
McIlroy finished the day at four-over and chose to avoid media duties once more. At last month’s PGA Championship, McIlroy refrained from speaking to the media after each of his four rounds, finishing 3-over par while Scottie Scheffler clinched victory.
At Oakmont, McIlroy started strong, moving to 2-under and maintaining his form with six consecutive pars. However, he recorded four bogeys and a double on the back nine.
This first round will be a letdown for the five-time major champion. While McIlroy chose to remain silent, DeChambeau – his Pinehurst nemesis – did appear before the media, despite only scoring one stroke better than the Northern Irishman.
McIlroy has openly discussed the challenges he’s faced since his monumental Masters victory, which saw him join an elite group as the sixth man to achieve the career Grand Slam. He emphasised the need to mentally move past his emotional triumph at Augusta in order to refocus for upcoming tournaments.
“I think it’s trying to have a little bit of amnesia and forget about what happened six weeks ago,” McIlroy said to reporters. “Then just trying to find the motivation to go back out there and work as hard as I’ve been working. I worked incredibly hard on my game from October last year all the way up until April this year. It was nice to sort of see the fruits of my labor come to fruition and have everything happen.
“But at the same time, you have to enjoy that. You have to enjoy what you’ve just accomplished. I certainly feel like I’m still doing that and I will continue to do that.
“At some point, you have to realize that there’s a little bit more golf left to play this season, here, Portrush, Ryder Cup, so those are obviously the three big things that I’m sort of looking at for the rest of the year.
“But I think weeks like Quail Hollow or even weeks like last week, it makes it easier to reset in some way, to be like, okay, I sort of need to get my stuff together here and get back to the process and sort of what I’d been doing for that seven months from October last year until April this year.”
He continued: “I think chasing a certain goal for the better part of a decade and a half, I think I’m allowed a little bit of time to relax a little bit. But here at Oakmont, I certainly can’t relax this week.”
Sitting at four-over par, McIlroy faces a stiff challenge as he aims to ascend the leaderboard and secure his spot for the weekend at the US Open.