"Robert Rock must have felt like he was taking part in a golf remake of 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles.'"

Tim Rosaforte on the wild and wacky journey first round 70-shooter Robert Rock took to reach Congressional.

“It’s a nice pressure to have knowing that the greatest player ever at the minute thinks that you’re going to do pretty good.”

Rory McIlroy's opening 6-under 65 stole the show at a Congressional vulnerable to a low round in the morning and less so by the afternoon when greens got bumpy and the wind gusted, meaning his afternoon round was all that much more impressive.

Ron Sirak reminds us that Rory will have plenty of fans hoping for a win after the Masters and his recent Haiti trip.

Maybe it is all of that and the fact that in this age of self-entitled, overpaid underachievers in sports he holds out the promise of being the real deal with the added value of being a nice guy in the process. Here is a young man who may not only live up to the hype, but also not allow his genuine goodness to be altered by his success.

Steve Elling writes that Rees Jones wasn't surprised his patient was vulnerable.

Noted golf architect Rees Jones had been hanging around the 111th U.S. Open premises all day, and like many others, he figured that somebody was sure to light up the scoreboard at Congressional Country Club.

The conditions were right, the world's best players were on the grounds and the greens were running slower than traffic on the traffic-choked Beltline, compared to the Open's baked-out norm. Hours passed.

History has shown that when mega-low scores crop at major championships, it's frequently in the first round, before the pressure builds. Jones assumed somebody would make a wicked run at Congressional, maybe even threaten the Grand Slam scoring record of 63. Then absolutely nothing happened.

Late in the afternoon, Jones, who redesigned Congressional in advance of the Open, looked up as Ulsterman Rory McIlroy was making yet another birdie.

"All day we've been waiting, and now it looks like he might do it," Jones said.

Bob Harig looks at Rory's recent run at the last four majors.

He shot a major championship record-tying 63 at St. Andrews last summer to hold the first-round lead in the British Open, only to be undone by a gale-induced 80 in the second round. He still finished third.

At the PGA Championship, he was tied for the lead on the back nine and had a 15-footer for birdie on the 72nd hole that would have put him in a playoff. He tied for third.

The Masters, of course, became legendary for his Sunday meltdown. Tied for the lead on the 10th tee, he shot 43 on the way to an 80 and finished 10 strokes behind winner Charl Schwartzel.

And here he is again, contending at his fourth straight major.

Robert Lusetich explains how Rory is feeding off supportive comments received from Jack Nicklaus.

“It’s a nice pressure to have knowing that the greatest player ever at the minute thinks that you’re going to do pretty good.”

McIlroy will do well to heed Jack’s advice.

“He emphasized so much to me about not making mistakes. That was his big thing.

“He said people lost a lot more majors and gave them to him than he actually won. It was a good piece of advice to have.”

These Guys Are Good...On Reestorations

John Paul Newport ran the numbers and the verdict is in: some Americans just love their Rees Jones rees-do work. Thanks reader JB for this.

An American Advantage?
Since 2007, the golfers in this U.S. Open with the lowest averages on courses completely remodeled by golf architect Rees Jones (min. 25 rounds).

GOLFER/COUNTRY   ROUNDS    ROUND AVERAGE
Jim Furyk USA           44                69.12

Camilo Villegas COL   34                69.41

Anthony Kim USA      32                69.66

K.J. Choi KOR            32                69.69

Hunter Mahan USA     44                69.90

Phil Mickelson USA      34               70.00

Steve Stricker USA     40                70.18

Some Final Comments About The Return To Shinnecock

I file a Golf World Daily item clarifying what needs to be done next time around (not much...and is that realistic?).

Not mentioned is who deserves the credit for smoothing things over with the club and paving the way for a return. The names most prominent in the effort, not surprisingly and in no particular order: Jim Hyler, Jim Vernon, Mike Davis, Tom O'Toole, Mike Butz and yes, Walter Driver, the Championship Commitee chair who oversaw the wacky 2004 U.S. Open setup!

"You should have heard the conversations about that later."

Mike Davis talked to a few writers after today's press conference where Shinnecock Hills was announced as the 2018 U.S. Open venue and was grilled about the disastrous 2004 U.S. Open. Davis was second in command to Tom Meeks but shared this about the halting of play during Saturday's round.

Dave Shedloski writes:

"I went out to 7 and watched the second group go through, and I immediately suspended play. I didn't even have the authority to suspend play, but I suspended play."

Tom Meeks was in charge of setting up the golf course that year. Walter Driver was chairman of the championship committee. But Davis couldn't reach either of them on the radio. "Time was working against us," Davis said. "You should have heard the conversations about that later."

"It's hard to play the U.S. Open without seeing the golf course."

Doug Ferguson talks to young Emiliano Grillo, first alternate who is not allowed to play a practice round. The greens will be soooo much better off!

Grillo wound up in a seven-man playoff for four spots in the Memphis, Tenn., qualifier that featured mostly PGA Tour players. He hung around until there were three players left for one spot. On the third extra hole, Tag Ridings hit into the water on a par 5. Grillo and Briny Baird reached the green in two and faced long eagle putts.

"It was almost darkness, and it can be hard to putt in the dark," he said. "I three-putted, but I still made par. I was so mad."

It took him a while to get over the disappointment of being one putt away from playing in the U.S. Open. He packed his clubs and headed to upstate New York to start a busy season of amateur golf. After being informed Monday that he was the first alternate, Grillo took two days to decide whether to come to Washington.

"At least I'm around here," he said, pointing to a practice green that was filled with players like Dustin Johnson and Bubba Watson. "It is something. But now I have to wait. If somebody withdraws, that's fine. If not, that's fine. I should have made one more putt."

The Controversial 16th?

The USGA's Mike Davis has gussied up the par-5 16th and the players aren't wild about it. I sum up the issues and link to some videos so you can judge for yourself in this Golf World Daily item (link works for non-subscribers too).

The ultimate test of this setup change to the hole will be whether the short grass is so extreme that it discourages players from going for the green in two.

Here's what Phil Mickelson said about the change in Tuesday's press conference:

PHIL MICKELSON: So that's a very interesting design because we're so used to the thick, hack-it-out rough around the greens, to see it shaved down on all angles and have the pitch of the grass go right into the pine needles -- I'm okay with pine needles, but it's not really where you want to be. So it really makes you think on that second shot, if you can get there. If it's downwind and you can get there, you really have to think about what kind of shot you want to do because if you miss it long, if you fly it on the green and it goes over, that's a really hard up and down. And par might be difficult. If you miss it right, it just gets accentuated by the shaved grass. So you really have to think about that hole, and I kind of like that. I like the fact that it requires a lot more thought on what you want to do and how you want to play it.