US Open: Rory McIlroy determined to end major drought after making strong start in Los Angeles

Rory McIlroy reviewed his three-under 67 in the second round of the US Open and spoke about the scoring discrepancy between the front nine and back nine

Rory McIlroy has credited a YouTube session looking back at past major successes for his new approach and impressive first two rounds at the 123rd US Open.

McIlroy, heading into the third major of the year with top-10 finishes in his last three worldwide starts, followed an opening-round 65 by producing a spectacular birdie stretch late in a second-round 67 at Los Angeles Country Club.

The Northern Irishman birdied four of his last five holes to move to eight under for the tournament and remain firmly in the hunt for a second US Open title, with McIlroy determined to end a major drought that stretches back to his 2014 PGA Championship success.

McIlroy is in contention to end his nine-year wait for a major victory

“I started thinking about winning this thing when I came here on Monday, I’ve already done that,” McIlroy said after his second-round 67. “No one wants me to win another major more than I do. The desire is obviously there.

“I’ve been trying and I’ve come close over the past nine years or whatever it is. I feel like I’ve showed a lot of resilience in my career, a lot of ups and downs, and I keep coming back. Whether that means that I get rewarded or I get punched in the gut or whatever it is, I’ll always keep coming back.

McIlroy was playing alongside five-time major champion Brooks Koepka, who heads into the weekend on level par

“I felt like coming into this week that was going to be a key for me. If I could put the ball in play, you can play from there and create some scoring opportunities. That’s really my game plan over the next couple days. Put the ball in play off the tee, and I think I’ll be just fine from there.”

McIlroy failed to match the birdies of his playing partners at the par-four 10th – his opening hole of the day – and dropped a shot after missing the green off the tee at the 297-yard par-three next, only to respond by draining a breaking putt from over 30 feet to birdie the 12th.

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The world No 3 finished underneath branches of a tree off the 13th tee after pulling his drive, resulting in a bogey, then failed to take advantage of the par-five 14th and missed an eight-foot birdie chance at the next.

McIlroy bogeyed the par-four 17th and squandered another birdie look at the next to reach the turn over par, only to start his resurgence by taking advantage of the par-five first and holing from 10 feet to pick up another shot at the third.

The 34-year-old cancelled out a bogey at the fourth by rolling in a 20-footer at the fifth for the first of back-to-back gains, and he then took advantage of the par-five eighth before going agonisingly close to a hole-in-one at the par-three ninth to set up a tap-in birdie.

McIlroy almost holed his tee shot at the par-three ninth hole at Los Angeles Country Club

McIlroy described the fact that he has never won a professional tournament where the winning score has been in single figures as a “flawed statistic”, while he revealed watching highlights of his 2014 Open victory inspired his decision to take a more cautious approach into this week.

“For whatever reason, I went on to YouTube a few weeks ago and was just looking back at like Hoylake in 2014 [his win at The Open and where this year’s contest will take place] and I actually couldn’t believe how many irons and three-woods and stuff I was hitting off the tee,” he said.

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“It set something off in my mind about, you know how to do this. You know how to play smart. You don’t have to hit driver all the time. Yes, it’s a big weapon, it’s a big advantage, but I keep saying I’ve got more weapons in my arsenal I feel now than I did back then, so I may as well use them.

“I’ve gone through periods over the last few years where I haven’t been patient enough and I’ve taken on too much. I think we’ve had some tests recently where you have to display patience, and hopefully those few experiences recently will help me this weekend.”

McIlroy heads into the weekend on eight under

Johnson ‘proud’ after impressive fightback

Dustin Johnson believes he is still firmly in contention to challenge for a third major victory after bouncing back from a nightmare start to his second round.

Johnson made an ugly quadruple-bogey at the par-four second after finding a fairway bunker, thick rough and then having to take a penalty drop before two-putting from 30 feet, only to bounce back in impressive fashion by rolling in from 15 feet to birdie the next.

Dustin Johnson slipped down the leaderboard during the second round of the US Open after racking up an ugly quadruple-bogey at the par-four second

The 2016 champion failed to get up and down from the sand to save par at the fourth and burned a birdie look from inside at the sixth, although picked up a shot at the eighth and birdied three of his last seven holes to salvage a level-par 70.

“You want to get obviously off to a good start and I didn’t do that,” Johnson said. “Making a quad on No 2 definitely didn’t get the day started off how I envisioned it.

Johnson explains how he remained calm after making the quadruple-bogey

“Battled back to get it back to even par for the day and six under for the tournament, so still right in the mix going into the weekend. Definitely proud of the way I came back and finished off the round.

“I’m in a good spot with 36 holes to go. I’m looking forward to this weekend. I feel like I’m swinging really well and rolling it good, so if I can keep driving it like I am, I’ll be around here on the weekend.”

Thomas misses the cut at 14 over | ‘This is the lowest I’ve felt’

Justin Thomas shot 81 on Friday and missed the cut at 14 over. Only three players in the 156-man field posted higher two-day scores, and the two-time major champion afterwards said it was his “lowest” moment.

“I was playing the best I’ve played in a really long time this week, so funny game, man,” Thomas said.

“It can leave you speechless, both good and bad, and right now it’s unfortunate. But once I’m able to reflect and figure out what I can learn and get better from, it’ll end up good. But it sucks right now.”

Justin Thomas missed the cut at 14 over

Nothing went well for Thomas from the beginning Friday: he bogeyed six of his first seven holes while starting on the back nine, then made a double bogey on 17. He had two more bogeys and two double bogeys from there.

“I’ll figure it out,” he said.

“I have another major left. If I go win the British Open, nobody even remembers that I’ve missed the cut by a zillion here, so I’ve just got to find a way to get better and learn from this, and if I can, I don’t have to look at this week as a total failure.”

Who will win the 123rd US Open? Watch throughout the weekend live on Sky Sports. Live coverage continues Saturday from 6pm on Sky Sports Golf and 10pm on Sky Sports Main Event.

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