The top two players in the world want to win the Memorial, but they’re also looking ahead to the challenge of Shinnecock Hills and the 126th U.S. Open in two weeks.
Both Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy visited Shinnecock in the days leading up to this week’s signature event at Jack’s Place. Both walked away with the conclusion from their visit to Southampton, New York: Generous fairways, lethal rough is lethal, and fast greens.
That assessment of the rough and greens is typical of a U.S. Open, but the wide fairways seemed to spark interest for two of the favorites heading into the third major of the season.
“I had heard some rumors about how difficult the greens were,” Scheffler said of his first-ever visit to the course on Monday. “I was a little surprised at the width of the fairways, but the green complexes there are extremely difficult, and I think that’s where the greatest challenge comes from.
“The rough, also, was a really good penalty, I think, for the width,” added Scheffler, who seeks to complete the Career Grand Slam at Shinnecock. Once you start missing fairways out there, you have no chance. But the fairways are generous enough to where it provides you some opportunity and that way it’s just that the green complexes are extraordinarily difficult, and so they can put the pins wherever they want and make the scores as high as they could possibly want ‘em to be.”
McIlroy missed the cut the last time Shinnecock hosted in 2018. That year, Brooks Koepka won his second straight U.S. Open title, besting Tommy Fleetwood by one stroke. Koepka’s winning score? A 1-over 281.
“The fairways are very generous,” McIlroy said of his scouting trip, where he played 18. “They’re more generous than they were in 2018, but the first cut of rough is 5 inches long. So it’s like the first cut is maybe three paces wide and then it gets into the fescue... The fairways are very, very generous. So if you miss the fairway, I feel like you deserve a bad lie.”
The current weather forecast for Southampton goes right up to the start of the tournament. Only one rainy day is predicted between now and then, but McIlroy doesn’t think the greens need to be any faster than they were on his scouting trip.
“The greens are rolling around 11, 11.2 [on the Stimpmeter], something like that,” McIlroy said. “And I really don’t think they need to get much faster. I think if they can keep them at that green speed, they can get them firm, and they can use the hole locations that they want to use without having some of the struggles that they have had the last couple of U.S. Opens.
“So to me, it’s all about them just maintaining the green speeds really where they are and not getting them too out of hand, and I think it will be a great week. If it’s set up the right way, I think it’s one of the best championship tests in the country. I mean, it’s an amazing golf course.”
