Wind swept across Shinnecock Hills on a brutal moving day Friday, with several contenders hitting the skids as the US Open's third round unfolded on Long Island.
Rory McIlroy discovered just how treacherous the greens have become. On the third hole, the Northern Irish star faced a 70-footer for birdie, misread the break, and left himself a 10-footer for par. The putt slid right of the cup, dropping him to plus-1 for the tournament and undoing earlier progress.
Emiliano Grillo, an Argentine looking to build on a career-best US Open finish of tied 19th last year, experienced his own momentum reversal. After carding four-under par through 16 holes, including a birdie on the par-five 16th, Grillo's round took a turn at the par-three 17th. He found sand on the right side of the green, chipped out short, and was unable to salvage par. That stumble knocked him back to even for the week.
The par-five 16th continued its reputation as the course's second-easiest hole, yielding birdies from those who found the fairway and played conservatively. But elsewhere, Shinnecock's narrow greens and quick surfaces punished imprecision. Even modest misses on shorter holes became costly.
With conditions expected to remain demanding throughout the weekend, scoring looked unlikely to balloon significantly, but the margin for error continued to shrink as the field pushed deeper into the championship.
Author James Rodriguez: "Shinnecock is a US Open course that rewards patience and punishes arrogance, and we're watching the script play out exactly as designed."
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