McIlroy, Fleetwood says U.S. Open still wide open

Rory McIlroy believes that if there's ever a course you can come back to win from seven behind at the halfway stage it's this one, while Tommy Fleetwood says that anyone who has made the cut at the U.S. Open still has a chance at lifting the title.

The last time the championship was held at Shinnecock Hills in 2018, Brooks Koepka came from five behind Dustin Johnson after 36 holes to win. To claim a seventh Major title, McIlroy will need to make up two more than that on current leader Wyndham Clark, who sits at seven under par.

The Northern Irishman went out in two-under 33 but had a tumultous start to his back nine, dropping a shot on each of the 10th, 11th and 12th holes.

He immediately bounced back with a tap in birdie at the 13th, before rolling in an unlikely 42 footer for another gain a hole later.

That recovery was short-lived, and the 2026 Masters champion gave back both those shots to the course at the 15th after finding the rough from the tee. He advanced his second shot 160 yards into the fairway but left his third shot in the greenside bunker nad was unable to get up and down for par.

"The back nine was a bit of a battle," said McIlroy after signing for a second-round 71 to sit at level par for the tournament.

"Started with, you know, three bogeys in a row to start the back. Couldn't stop getting myself to hit it over the back of the green those three holes and then played pretty good from there on in.

"That one mistake on 15, bad chip shot from over the back. But you know, the wind felt like it was laying down first the first few holes. Then it certainly got back up again, sort of around when we made the turn.

"I thought we were going to get away with it and get some easier conditions, but the back nine was very, very tough. So, you know, I think anyone on this side will feel like they got the rough end of the draw, but still feel like I'm in the tournament and in with a decent chance."

McIlroy stressed that chasing Clark does not mean chasing pins, noting that Shinnecock Hills punishes impatience.

"I think Brooks was pretty far back going into the weekend in 2018. So, yeah, if there's a course where you feel like you still have a chance if you're seven back going into the weekend like I am, it's definitely this one.

"I think, you know, and this is -- when you are chasing, it's sort of counterintuitive, but for me if I can limit my mistakes, I know that everyone else in the field is going to make bogeys, so if I can limit my mistakes and pick off a few birdies here and there, I think that's -- hole a couple more 20-, 25-footers than other guys, that's really the strategy.

"Again, you can't go chasing pins around here. You can't try to be too aggressive, because once you do that -- you know, today for me was a prime example. I was a little too aggressive to the pin on 11, a little too aggressive to the pin on 12. All of a sudden just two bogeys in a row out of nowhere.

"I think you still have to play smart, try to keep the ball under the hole, hit it into the middles of the greens and take your chances when they present themselves.

Fleetwood, who played alongside McIlroy, experienced a similar pattern on day two. He turned under par for his round but was unable to save par at the tenth. A brilliant birdie at the 12th briefly repaired the damage before further bogeys at 13 and 15 left him with a one‑over 71 and one‑over for the championship.

"I mean I feel okay I was a little bit disappointed with like a couple of bad swings off the tee on the bat night I mean we we played it very very difficult I felt like the day we were walking down the fourth fairway felt like we were going out of great conditions and then when kind of picked over particularly on the bat night I found it was it was it was tough and you know you get the worst of the greens and everything I feel like I probably should have shot a couple better today so that's like a little bit frustrating but at the same time you take what you get and I did a lot of good stuff and at the end of the day you know still in pretty good position going into the weekend."

The Englishman pointed out that despite Clark’s lead, the rest of the field remains tightly bunched.

"You have one person that's a long way ahead. So you have Wyndham that's had an unbelievable two days, and aside from that, you have three under, which is the next best score. So, you know, anybody that makes the cut, if you have good for nine, which is, you know, three, four under, you're only three shots away from second if you like.

"So it's, yeah, and that's kind of what a U.S. Open's like or a major, you know, you know that if you're on that cut mark and you grind it out and you battle to make the cut, you just never know what can happen over the weekend, depending on condition."

Fleetwood added that Saturday’s weather could be a significant factor, with firmer ground potentially favouring those trying to close the gap.

"Yeah I mean I mean kind of like the 18th green was firm the fairways are getting firmer. It'd be interesting to see how it plays over the weekend now. The score has actually been pretty good hasn't it so it'll be interesting to see now what they do.

"I mean, you're starting to see it get a bit browner, but at the same time, just the way the greens pitch, it doesn't always mean it's easier being as soft as it was at times. A really nice pitch in 16 ended up with a 40 footer that I couldn't get to the hole and stuff like that. But yeah, I think we feel like they're going to firm it up now. We'll let it go a little bit, but we'll wait and see what we get.

"Probably in order to maybe have the best possible chance of being right there, maybe I need it to be a little bit harder just being a little bit further back, but I'm never going to request for a golf course to be harder, especially like a Shinnecock Hills in a US Open venue. So, you know, I'm broke par as it is, so don't need to be any harder."