Tiger Woods issues US Open warning which will be music to Rory McIlroy’s ears | Golf | Sport
Tiger Woods has warned this year’s US Open competitors that their ball-striking needs to be on point if they are to stand any chance of fighting for victory at the challenging Oakmont Country Club. The long holes, firm fairways, terrifying bunkers and deep rough threaten to give even the world’s best players a miserable time if they turn up with anything short of their A-game.
And Woods believes that the long hitters will have an advantage as they can bomb their way over much of the trouble off the tee. The American, who has not recovered from an Achilles tear in time for the year’s second major, said: “You just have to hit the golf ball well there. There is no faking about Oakmont.
“The golf course is big, yes, but it’s just… there is no way around it. You just have to hit the golf ball well, and it favors longer hitters, just because of the degrees, the complexes.
“It just helps so much to be coming in with a shorter iron, to be able to sock the ball. It’s about missing the ball in the correct spots because if you don’t, it’s horrible!”
Woods’ warning will be music to the ears of Rory McIlroy, who is one of the longest hitters on the PGA Tour. With an average driving distance of 319.2 yards, the Northern Irishman sits third on the 2025 list behind Aldrich Potgieter and Niklas Norgaard.
That puts McIlroy nearly 20 yards clear of the tour average, and crucially, almost 16 yards clear of rival Scottie Scheffler. Reigning PGA Championship winner Scheffler is the red-hot favourite to prevail at Oakmont in the wake of a scintillating run of form.
McIlroy, meanwhile, has put together a string of concerning results since completing the Career Grand Slam at the Masters in April. He finished tied for 47th at the PGA Championship in May, which Scheffler won by five strokes, and missed the cut by miles at the Canadian Open last week.
Despite Woods tipping the longer hitters to enjoy success at Oakmont, McIlroy sparked concerns with his demeanour in a pre-US Open press conference. Sky Sports pundit Paul McGinley said: “His eyes weren’t alive. The energy was not there.
“He certainly didn’t have the pointy elbows the way we saw coming into the Masters. I know from my own experience, when you win tournaments, you check out. You don’t feel the same. You want to be there and you put in the energy but something inside you is just missing.”
