McIlroy: I needed more control

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Rory McIlroy revealed that he needed to show a little more self-restraint at the US Open this weekend.

The Northern Irishmen was in contention after two rounds at Pinehurst No.2, sitting on one under after rounds of 71 and 68.

But a disastrous start to his third round, where he would card five bogeys on the front nine, saw him drop dramatically down the leaderboard. He would finish on six over par on Sunday, 15 strokes off winner Martin Kaymer.

“I just need to curb my enthusiasm at times,” the two time Major winner told the Guardian.

“You’re standing with a seven-iron in your hand on that fifth hole, for example, and know that actually missing the green short right isn’t a bad shot. Instead of trying to hit the perfect shot, landing it in the middle of the green.

“It might be a little bit to do with once I get on a run, I’m maybe trying a little too hard to get out of it and that compounds the issue.

“I need to figure out these nine holes of golf where instead of it being four over or five over, I can maybe be one or two over, just limiting the damage a little bit.”

The five bogeys on Saturday morning was reminiscent of the Masters at Augusta in 2011, where McIlroy dropped six shots in just three holes, ending his title chances.

“There’s just been runs of holes in tournaments where I haven’t played so well,” admitted the 25-year-old.

“I have shot four or five over in the space of nine holes, and that’s really just derailed my tournament.”

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