Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy make a pit stop at Shinnecock Hills ahead of the U.S. Open

While there’s a tournament this week to focus on, the top two golfers in the world made a pit stop in Long Island on Monday.

Both Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy stopped to play Shinnecock Hills in New York, the site of the U.S. Open later this month, on Monday before arriving in Ohio for the Memorial Tournament.

“I hadn’t been there prior. That was my first time on property,” Scheffler said on Wednesday from Muirfield Village. “It was kind of what I expected. I had heard some rumors about how difficult the greens were. I was a little surprised at the width of the fairways, but the green complexes there are extremely difficult, and I think that’s where the greatest challenge comes from.”

Scheffler said he didn’t keep score on Monday. It’s unclear if he played with McIlroy, or if the two went out separately. But, with the major championship looming, both guys clearly thought it was important to stop by.

Advertisement

Scheffler, the top-ranked golfer in the world, picked up his 20th career PGA Tour win earlier this season at The American Express. He has three runner-up finishes this season, too, including at the Masters in April. He’s entering the Memorial Tournament this week coming off a third place finish at The CJ Cup.

Scheffler has won four major championships in his career, too, including at both the PGA Championship and the British Open last season. He’s now just a U.S. Open win away from completing the career grand slam, something McIlroy pulled off last year at Augusta National.

Though it’s not been as dominant as the past two seasons — Scheffler picked up seven wins in 2024 and six in 2025 — he’s been right there.

“I would say this year has felt like I've been close,” he said. “I felt like I haven't been as sharp as I would have liked to have been. When you look at the margins in this game, they're quite small. I think statistically I'm probably not far off from where I've been the last couple years, it's just a couple shots here or there, a couple of those momentum shots where it can kind of swing you in a tournament … I’ve just got to get a touch sharper.”

McIlroy has been to Shinnecock before, but he missed the cut at the course the last time it hosted the U.S. Open back in 2018. Brooks Koepka ended up winning that season, but he did it with a 1-over final score.

“Shinnecock looks good. The fairways are very generous,” McIlroy said. “They’re more generous than they were in 2018 … If it’s set up the right way, I think it’s one of the best championship tests in the country. I mean, it’s an amazing golf course.”