‘Bethpage Black With Pebble Beach’s Greens’ - McIlroy On US Open Venue

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.” 

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.

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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.