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…
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