‘Bethpage Black With Pebble Beach’s Greens’ - McIlroy On US Open Venue
The four-time Major winner gives his verdict on The Country Club
![Rory McIlroy plays a practice round before the 2022 US Open](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/GwqZt6v5UTJ8hAg7WuYKgj-415-80.jpg)
Rory McIlroy goes in search of his second US Open title at The Country Club this week, and judging by his assessment of the course, he’ll need to be at his very best to achieve it.
Presenter for The Golf Channel, Damon Hack, posted on Twitter that he had spoken to the 33-year-old and asked his opinion on the newly redesigned course compared to other US Open venues. McIlroy responded: “Bethpage Black with Pebble’s greens.”
Caught up with Rory on the course and asked him what The Country Club reminded him of among other @usopengolf setups. “Bethpage Black with Pebble’s greens.” So good. The par 3 11th below. TCC has the 2nd smallest greens in the US Open - behind Pebble. @GolfChannel pic.twitter.com/BoGww3nFQsJune 15, 2022
Bethpage Black is known for its narrow fairways, lush rough and huge bunkers. It last hosted the US Open in 2009, but it was also the venue for the 2019 PGA Championship, where McIlroy finished tied for eighth. The following month, Pebble Beach, which famously has the smallest greens on the PGA Tour, hosted the US Open. McIlroy again fared reasonably with a tie for ninth.
Video: Things You Didn't Know About Rory McIlroy
News of McIlroy’s comparison of The Country Club with two of the toughest courses in the world came after he played the front nine earlier in the week. When asked about his impression of the course at his press conference leading up to the tournament, he said: “It seems pretty playable off the tee. There’s some rough, but if you just miss a fairway, you can certainly get it to the green. You’re going to lose control of your ball and not be able to spin it into the greens, but at least on the front nine there’s a lot of greens that have very manicured run-ups, so the greens probably play a little longer than they actually are.”
McIlroy is certainly going into the tournament on the back of some excellent form. He’s posted top-10 finishes in the two previous Majors this year, and won last week’s enthralling RBC Canadian Open, an achievement that saw him leap from World No.8 to World No.3. The Country Club may be one of the most challenging courses around, but if he builds on that form, it could prove surmountable for the four-time Major winner.
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Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories.
He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game.
Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course.
Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.
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