Pinehurst No. 2 has received widespread praise this week for the all-round challenge it has presented for players at the US Open. There is no respite on the Donald Ross masterpiece but unlike USGA championships of years gone by, it has, by and large, posed a very fair test.
Early in Sunday’s final round, however, it appeared to cross the subjective line into the silly, with many interesting spectators taking exception to a bad break that befell Rory McIlroy on the par-5 5th.
The Northern Irishman, one-under for his round after a birdie at the 1st, hit a sublime drive and followed that with what looked like a brilliant second that would leave him a chance for eagle.
His ball landed just short of the green, rolled about 15 feet forward and then beelined straight left. Several seconds later, what was a putt for eagle became a near impossible recovery shot from a sandy depression in one of Pinehurst’s many waste areas.
SO close to an incredible shot by Rory......and it ends up all the way down the hill and in the native sandy area. pic.twitter.com/Nx0UBQrkATJune 16, 2024
Four shots later McIlroy trudged off the green with a bogey six that saw him lose ground on leader Bryson DeChambeau. Not only was he not rewarded for a good shot, he was heavily punished, and the incident certainly sparked plenty of debate on social media.
In response to a tweet calling it a “clown show result from a great shot”, CBS’ Kyle Porter said: “It was a good shot that got swatted. If it was a great shot, he would have been putting for eagle. This isn't the Rocket Mortgage Classic.”
Former PGA Tour player Steve Flesch also chimed in, saying: “This is exactly what’s great and awful at Pinehurst. The fine line between a great shot and an overly penalized shot is too severe. It makes for good tv but it’s really total BS.”
Those comments echo the thoughts of Mark Calcavecchia, who said this on Thursday about the venue: “I’m ready for some abuse. Just gonna spit it out!! Pinehurst is such a cool area with great courses. #2 ain’t one of them. Most overrated course in the world!! Lemme have it!! But it’s true.”
No Laying Up defended the course, saying McIlroy “paid the price” for not taking the “safer” option.
What happened to Rory on 5 was not unfair. He's hitting 5-iron into a par-5. He knows exactly what will happen to a less than perfect shot. Everyone is going to have to navigate a massive false front on the easiest hole on the golf course this week. He took the risk and…June 16, 2024
“What happened to Rory on 5 was not unfair,” No Laying Up wrote on X. “He's hitting 5-iron into a par-5. He knows exactly what will happen to a less than perfect shot.
“Everyone is going to have to navigate a massive false front on the easiest hole on the golf course this week. He took the risk and paid the price. The safer shot was farther out right.”
It is a viewpoint McIlroy is likely to agree with. Asked on Friday what makes Pinehurst No. 2 different from a run-of-the-mill tour course, he replied: “It just requires a lot more thought. Even though I hit a great drive up the 8th hole, I had 151 adjusted to the hole. I'm trying to land it 146. I can't land it 144 because it's not going to get up there. I can't land it 148 because it's going to go over the back of the green.
“You just need to have a lot of precision. I feel like for the most part I've done that well this week. I've got the ball pin-high quite a lot, which is really important. I'm not trying to land the ball pin-high. You're trying to hit it to a number with a wedge, maybe five short of that, and then with a mid-iron you're trying to land it 30 feet short of the pin to try to get it pin-high.”
The setback seemed to briefly rattle McIlroy but he managed to chip and putt himself out of trouble at the 7th and 8th before a birdie at the par-3 9th got him back within one of DeChambeau as he looks to end a 10-year Major drought.
