Eight years ago, Rory McIlroy lost his battle with Sinek Hills Golf Club, missing out on the 2018 U.S. Open despite shooting an 80 in his first round. older and wiser McIlroy has seen his game mature significantly. Since then, he’s shown it in Thursday’s opening round of the 2026 U.S. Open, improving his score by 11 strokes to a 1-under 69 and moving within one shot of the lead when he signed his scorecard.
McIlroy started the day two hours late due to morning fog, but did not stop playing. The six-time major champion started the day on the back nine with the 10th hole, where players had seizures in the morning surf, and played it as the second-hardest hole on the course, averaging just over 4.6.
His maturation as a player, both in his mentality and the variety of shots he hits, was evident from his jump off the tee with a low drawing iron in the wind and when he lay in the fairway on a hill. From there, he didn’t tempt fate by aiming for the flag on the right side of the green with the wind coming from the right, but instead rode the wind to the center of the green and two-putted for par.
When the chance to attack presented itself on the 11th and 12th holes, the two-time reigning Masters champion made consecutive birdies to move into the lead at 2 under, making his presence known from the start. He gave those two back with two bogeys on Nos. 13 and 16, paying the price for a mercurial tee shot, but he quickly moved up the leaderboard as he rounded the front nine.
A birdie on No. 3 put him back in the red, but perhaps the key to his round was the par save on No. 4. McIlroy missed the tee shot wide to the left on the most difficult hole on the golf course and found fescue. So he hit one next to the hosel, spraying the fescue on the right side of the hole and making the mistake worse. From there, he tried to minimize damage by hitting a smart wedge into the center of the green, only to receive a bonus when he rolled it in for par.
McIlroy was fired up, as evidenced by his fist-pumping bomb on the par-5 No. 5, and took advantage of Shinnecock Hills’ only downwind par-5 to hit a shot 396 yards from the fairway. That left him with just over 190 yards. Staring into the 20-plus mph wind, he simply hoisted his pitching wedge into the air and rode the wind, poised eagle and set the scene on fire.
It was McIlroy’s first eagle at the U.S. Open since the first round at Erin Hills in 2017, and he moved into the lead. It looked like he would give him a bit of a cushion, but as is often the case with Shinnecock, just when you think you’ve got it figured out, you get hit back.
McIlroy bogeyed the final two holes and finished at 1 under. The first shot was on the par 4 8th hole, and he misjudged the wind and ended up hitting the back of the green from his approach from the fairway. On the 9th, when I tried to ride the wind with a draw from a sagging lie in the fairway, I overcooked the green and missed it to the left, leaving a very delicate chip that I couldn’t get up as I ran past it.
Despite those late-game hiccups, McIlroy generally coped well with the challenges of Sinek Hills on a tough Thursday – with the course expected to get even tougher as the week continues. The growth in his game was on full display as he limited his mistakes, kept his doubles off the card, and hit a variety of shots both off the tee and with irons to always be in good position.
Eight years ago, when McIlroy tried to dominate the course, this wasn’t part of his game, but now he has a low, penetrating tee ball in his bag that works very well into the wind, while also being able to launch one ball as high as the No. 5 on his back.
McIlroy has said his goal now is to win a big event on the iconic course, and the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, which ranks him among the top 10 all-time for major titles, certainly fits that goal.
You can’t win Thursday’s U.S. Open, but as McIlroy learned in 2018, you can certainly lose. After 18 holes in 2026, he’s firmly in the race for second place (when he enters the clubhouse), and only a handful of players can round in the 60s in the morning waves.
