Rory McIlroy is in contention to win yet another major championship heading into the weekend at the US Open.
Shinnecock Hills is playing host to the tournament, where the Northern Irishman is in a tie for 11th after two rounds.
He has carded rounds of 69 and 71 to enter Saturday on even par, seven shots behind solo leader Wyndham Clark.
McIlroy thinks he can catch Clark at Shinnecock Hills, which the former analyzed in detail after his second round of the US Open.
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Rory McIlroy shares verdict on Shinnecock setup at the US Open
McIlroy spoke to the media on Friday, where he was asked to grade the setup at the Long Island course after the first two rounds.
He said: “Yeah, I think the setup has been good.
“I think that’s more… I think that’s more a reflection of the golf course rather than the setup.
“I would say that the storyline over the first two days hasn’t really been the setup.
“It’s been the golf course.
“Yes, they’ve had to set it up in some ways quite benign because of at least the expected wind yesterday that materialized for some part but not all of the day.
“Then today was, I would say, a typical day here at Shinnecock where the wind was, you know, 15 to 20, gusting to 25 to 30.
“But I would say fewer players in the weekend, starting a little bit later, you know, I think you’ll start to see the golf course dry out a little bit and ramp up.
“But I didn’t really think there was any, like, borderline pins.
“I thought they’ve done a good job so far over the first couple of days.”
Rory McIlroy’s scoring stats from first two US Open rounds
It will certainly be intriguing to see what the USGA does with Shinnecock on Saturday and Sunday, with several players set to battle it out for the title.
Just 10 of the entire field are under-par after two days of competition, led by 2023 US Open champion Clark on seven-under.
Of course, many golf fans will remember the tournament in 2018, when Brooks Koepka won at Shinnecock with a score of one-over.
But wind has played a significant role this time around, and it will likely continue to impact the thought process behind the course setup.
However, all McIlroy can do is focus on his own game and on starting the weekend as strongly as possible.
From 36 holes, the six-time major winner has carded one eagle, seven birdies, 20 pars, seven bogeys and one double bogey.
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