Flexible Rory McIlroy tries again at the US Open

“For whatever reason,” McIlroy said, but didn’t reveal exactly whether he was looking, reminiscing or just a victim of the site’s acute algorithm. He saw a curly-haired, 25-year-old version of himself on video, hitting several irons and 3-woods — not driver — out of the way on his way to victory.

“It gave me something like, ‘You know how to do this. You know how to play smart. You don’t have to hit driver all the time.'” McIlroy said of the tape. “Yeah, it’s a big weapon, it’s a big advantage, but I keep saying I’ve got more weapons in my arsenal now than I did then, so I might as well use them and play with them .”

Through two rounds of the 2023 US Open at Los Angeles Country Club, McIlroy’s smart game and complete arsenal have been on display as he sits at 8-under, two shots back of leader Rickie Fowler heading into the weekend.

While McIlroy has hit several shots over 370 yards so far, he’s not just bombing the ball down the fairway on every hole. Instead, he is first on the course in strokes gained off the tee while in complete control of his golf ball, no matter which club he hits.

Perhaps no hole exemplified that more on Friday than the par-5 8th, where McIlroy took his second round from satisfactory to brilliant. After a 307-yard drive with a 3-wood, McIlroy had 218 yards to the pin, which was pushed onto the green. Blocked by a tree, McIlroy made a high, wide putt that landed right in its intended spot. Twenty-one feet for eagle turned into a tap-in birdie.

The nature of a competitive golf round can sometimes provide a brutal perspective depending on what happens on the last hole. On Thursday, McIlroy got off to a blazing start. He made five birdies on the front nine only to stall on the back nine and card his first and only bogey of the day on the 18th hole. An impressive 5-under round felt unaltered by its anticlimactic conclusion.

In the second round, McIlroy started on the ninth, where he carded three bogeys and only one birdie. Then he made a turn and the sprint to the finish line began. McIlroy birdied six holes with his lone bogey on that back nine on the 4th and his best shot on the last — a carved 7-iron straight at the pin on the 9th that almost went in for an ace. It made Friday’s 3-under round somehow feel better than Thursday’s opening.

“Apparently, at least for me, there is quite a difference in scoring between the front nine and the back nine.” McIlroy said: “It kind of feels like a golf course where you’re trying to score in the front and then you’re trying to hang in the back.”

The idea of ​​hanging on has proven to be a weak one for McIlroy. His best chance to break a major drought came last year at the 2022 Open Championship at St. Andrews, where he had a share of the lead going into the final round but failed to hold on. It was a stellar year that still included three PGA Tour wins and 10 top-10 finishes, including at every major. Still, that big win still eluded him.

“No one wants me to win another major more than I do,” McIlroy said. “The desire is obviously there. I’ve tried and come close over the last nine years or whatever, and I keep coming back.”

McIlroy’s self-reflection seems to be at an all-time high at this point in his career — and not just because he’s watching himself on YouTube. He mentioned on Friday how he hasn’t been patient enough in the past and how he’s “taken too much” at times. While he was referring to his aggressive golf game, those words could also apply to McIlroy’s role off the course last year.

The golf world, rocked by LIV Golf and now trying to pull itself back together with the shock deal between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, has turned McIlroy from a protagonist on the PGA Tour to a bystander. McIlroy, meanwhile, has tried to retreat from the limelight this week as much as possible for a player of his caliber. Although McIlroy was scheduled to speak to the media on Tuesday before the tournament, he declined to attend. And after Thursday’s 5-under round, he also decided not to speak to reporters.

After Friday’s round, McIlroy addressed the interview room where every question was about golf and his performance. The words LIV, PIF or even PGA Tour were never uttered, and the much-discussed topic Monday through Wednesday felt like it took place in a distant reality that McIlroy chose not to participate in.

Given the tumultuous nature of last year, it makes sense that McIlroy would try to keep things simple. Earlier this week, he walked into LACC with just a putter and a pair of wedges, and took to an unfamiliar golf course with a fresh mind. And through his first two rounds alongside Brooks Koepka, they’ve been constantly chatting and smiling, a kind of friendly symbol of how much noise in and around the golf world can be drowned out when the ball is in the air.

So far, that approach seems to be working well for the four-time major winner. But whether that results in a win or another close call by the end of the weekend won’t settle such matters. McIlroy, for his part, seems to recognize just that. Faced with a major drought that has lasted so long, the Open returns to Hoylake next month, there’s only one thing he can do: keep trying.

“I feel like I’ve shown a lot of resilience in my career, a lot of ups and downs, and I keep coming back,” McIlroy said. “And whether it means getting an award or punches in the stomach or whatever, I’ll always come back.”