Rory McIlroy found himself in a spot of bother on the fifth hole at The Country Club during the first round of the 122nd U.S. Open in Brookline, Massachusetts.
McIlroy’s tee shot sailed right and buried in thick rough just outside the right lip of a fairway bunker. McIlroy was forced to take a whack at it while standing in the bunker. All he was trying to do was take his medicine and pitch it out back to the fairway. But he failed miserably, hacking into another bunker ahead of him instead.
This didn’t sit well with McIlroy, the 2011 U.S. Open champion. He slammed his club in the sand not once but twice. Apparently, getting his anger out did the trick because McIlroy exploded his next shot 15 feet past the hole and sank the par putt.
A man on a mission. @McIlroyRory saves par at the 5th. #USOpen pic.twitter.com/6SMjcYqGnD
— U.S. Open (USGA) (@usopengolf) June 16, 2022
Quite the save to keep his momentum and worthy of a fist pump. McIlroy left the fifth hole at 2 under for the championship and on the first page of the leaderboard.
McIlroy, World No. 3, entered the U.S. Open as the betting favorite after winning the RBC Canadian Open last week. Winner of four career majors, McIlroy hasn’t won a major since 2014.
