World No. 1 Rory McIlroy is confident he can adapt his game to the unique conditions at Chambers Bay Golf Club and lift a second U.S. Open trophy.
The Northern Irishman arrives in Washington state as one of the favorites to win this weekend, despite failing to make the cut in his last two outings — the BMW PGA Championship and Irish Open.
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McIlroy last won the U.S. Open at Congressional in 2011 — his first major victory — and said he believes the similarities in Chambers Bay to links courses in the United Kingdom could help him.
"I really didn't know what to expect when I got here," he said at a press conference Tuesday. "I got to the course on Saturday morning, and I mean it's a pure links golf course. Every part of this golf course is fescue [grass]. You get fescue in the United States just on sort of the surrounding areas of the golf course, but here fairways, greens, aprons, everything, everything is fescue. It's really like playing an Open Championship in the United States.
"That's what it's going to be like this week, apart from the fact that it's about 20 degrees warmer. It plays more like a links course than some links courses. I mean, it's so fast, so firm. It reminds me of 2013 at Muirfield at the Open. It's a pure links test this week."
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And, after getting his first taste of the course, McIlroy believes there could be a wide range of scores this week if players struggle in the conditions.
"I think a place like this can separate the field a lot," he said. "This is the sort of golf course that if you're just slightly off, it'll magnify that. But it'll really reward people that are hitting good shots and are confident and their short games are sharp.
"I definitely think this is the sort of golf course that you could see the guys that are really playing well and are confident with the setup and how they approach it, they could really separate themselves from the rest of the field."