Rory McIlroy preaches patience as he surges into U.S. Open contention

LOS ANGELES – Like a typical golf fan, Rory McIlroy found himself watching golf highlights on YouTube a few weeks ago. The only difference is that he was the star of this highlight reel.

McIlroy watched his victory in the 2014 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool, the links course that will host The Open again next month. His tee shots caught his attention as he watched the film from nearly a decade ago. Not because of the distance that so often separates him from his peers. Instead, it was the myriad of clubs he used off the tee.

“I actually couldn't believe how many irons and 3-woods and stuff I was hitting off the tee,” he said Friday after shooting 67 in the second round of the U.S. Open at The Los Angeles Country Club. “It set something off in my mind about, you know how to do this. You know how to play smart. You don't have to hit driver all the time. Yes, it's a big weapon, it's a big advantage. But I keep saying I've got more weapons in my arsenal, I feel, now, than I did back then, so I may as well use them and play to them.”

McIlroy will have the opportunity to display that patience this weekend as he contends for another major championship. McIlroy is 8 under par (65-67) and will be firmly in the mix as the U.S. Open enters its second half.

He used birdies on four of his last five holes Friday to surge into contention and establish a theme after just two trips around LACC. There is a definite disparity in the difficulty of the course’s two nines – the front plays slightly more than a stroke easier -- but McIlroy has taken it to the extreme.

He has shot 30 on both of his trips around the front nine, compared to a combined 72 on the back. McIlroy started his second round on that side and shot a 2-over 37. He was still over par for his round after 13 holes. Then he made birdie on four of his final five holes.

It started with a 22-foot birdie putt on the 493-yard fifth hole. He flipped a 60-yard wedge shot to 6 feet on the sixth hole, then reached the par-5 eighth in two shots. He closed the round by hitting his tee shot on the 168-yard ninth to 3 feet.

Los Angeles Country Club, which had the lowest first-round scoring average in U.S. Open history, will likely play more difficult as the tournament progresses. The sun started shining as McIlroy finished his second round, an encouraging sign for those who want to see the course put up a stronger fight. McIlroy is among them.

“It should be tough,” McIlroy said. “It should be just as much of a mental grind out there as a physical one.”

That 2014 Open that he watched on YouTube was the third of his four major triumphs. He hasn’t won another major since picking up the PGA Championship a few weeks after winning at Royal Liverpool. This represents another opportunity to end that drought.

“No one wants me to win another major more than I do,” he said. “The desire is obviously there. I've been trying and I've come close over the past nine years or whatever it is, and I keep coming back. I feel like I've showed a lot of resilience in my career, a lot of ups and downs, and I keep coming back. And whether that means that I get rewarded or I get punched in the gut or whatever it is, I'll always keep coming back.”