LOS ANGELES — The questions keep piling up for Rory McIlroy.
Now at the top of the list: What happened when you whiffed on the chip shot in the rough just off the 18th green on Thursday?
Mum’s the word for McIlroy, the 34-year-old Northern Irishman with four major championships.
It’s unclear if or when answers are coming. McIlroy declined interview requests made through the United States Golf Association Thursday after his 5-under 65 in the first round of the U.S. Open at The Los Angeles Country Club.
What was it like playing with Brooks Koepka, one of the most prominent players of LIV Golf, which McIlroy said he hates?
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How did he feel when he shook Koepka’s hand after the round?
There’s no telling yet with McIlroy, who’s done his best Greta Garbo impersonation here. First, he canceled a pre-tournament press conference Tuesday and then on Thursday, after completing his round, he walked from the scoring tent to the clubhouse without taking questions from the media.
Swing and a miss for Rory McIlroy Wow. One blemish on an otherwise spectacular round 65 first round. 3 off the lead pic.twitter.com/3MfeBWPRmh
— Bob Pompeani (@KDPomp) June 16, 2023
The duel between McIlroy and Koepka was largely a dud with Koepka bogeying the first hole and never getting back to par.
McIlroy, by contrast, made five birdies on the front nine and added another before the shocker at 18. He saved bogey with a 15-foot putt, but his chip shot blunder conjured up images of retired New York Giants punter Sean Landeta.
On Jan. 5, 1986, when the Giants played the Chicago Bears in a playoff game on a gusty day, Landeta essentially missed the football on an attempted punt.
Rory McIlroy, Hideki Matsuyama and their caddies on the 4th hole during the first round of the 2023 U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club. (Photo: Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports)
The difference between the punt and the chip shot is Landeta, then a rookie, stayed around to talk to the media.
‘”I got a piece of the ball, but almost none of it,” Landeta said, according to an account in the New York Times. “I think I got a piece of it. That never, never, never happened to me before.”
Landeta elaborated.
”When the wind got the ball, I knew I had to adjust to make contact, and I did,” he said. “You almost always get a piece, even if the piece goes only 20 yards. Even if you tried to swing and miss, you won’t. It happened, and what are you going to do? I feel badly about losing, but I don’t think that was the difference.”
What details might shed light on McIlroy’s mishap?
Inquiring minds don’t yet know.