McIlroy favored at Chambers Bay

World’s No. 1 player

is comfortable with

Chambers Bay ‘links’

Associated Press

UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash.

Rory McIlroy didn’t fare so well the last time he played links golf. He shot an 80 at Royal County Down in the Irish Open, missed his second straight cut, returned to his home in Florida and spent four days of practice to get back to his style of golf.

Long. High. Powerful.

And that’s what he thinks will help him the most at Chambers Bay, a course he describes as “pure links.”

It’s all a bit confusing, which is perfect for a U.S. Open that has rarely been such a mystery to so many players. McIlroy wasn’t sure what to expect when he arrived on the weekend and was charmed by the look of the course off Puget Sound.

“I think it sets up well for my game,” he said. “You’ve got to be aggressive off the tee. You’ve got to hit driver. I think it’s a course where you’re going to see a lot of guys hit fairways and hit greens.

“But when you hit greens, you can still be 50, 60 feet away from the pin. So if you can drive the ball well and your pace putting and long putting is sharp, I think they’re going to be two really key things this week to be successful.”

One aspect of McIlroy needs no explanation.

He might not have a green jacket from the Masters. He missed his first shot at the career Grand Slam two months ago. But there is little doubt who is the best player in golf, even though he is only a slight favorite at the U.S. Open ahead of Masters champion and world No. 2 Jordan Spieth.

Never mind that McIlroy is coming off back-to-back missed cuts on the European Tour. He writes that off on fatigue in the mind more than the body, especially because it ended five straight tournaments on both sides of the Atlantic.

Besides, he won two of the other tournaments in that stretch, the Match Play Championship and the Wells Fargo Championship.

“I didn’t obviously want to miss those two cuts in Europe,” he said. “But I think that’s just the way I’m going to be. I’d rather, in a six-tournament period, have three wins and three missed cuts than six top 10s. Volatility in golf is actually a good thing. If your good weeks are really good, it far outweighs the bad weeks.”

He wouldn’t mind a good week at Chambers Bay.

McIlroy won the last major on a real links — Royal Liverpool, which was softened by rain on the weekend. He finished the year with another major at the PGA Championship, joining Bobby Jones, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods as the only players with four majors at age 25 or younger.

Chambers Bay is a chance to add to that total and offer a reminder.

Spieth went wire-to-wire in a dominant win at the Masters. Rickie Fowler showed remarkable resolve and delivered the most exciting finish of the year when he went eagle-birdie-birdie and won The Players Championship a month later.

Golf isn’t looking for a new No. 1. It’s looking for a rival for McIlroy.