Rory McIlroy among golfers stunned as balls keep rolling backward at fast-playing Pinehurst in frustrating US Open
Rory McIlroy entered the second round of the 2024 US Open near the top of the leaderboard.
But one of the best golfers in the sport was dealing with Pinehurst's unforgiving greens like everyone else.
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The course was playing fast, once again, and it was unforgiving if a pro didn't have the right touch at the right time.
Italy's Matteo Manassero was forced to watch in the first round as he opted for his putter from off the green.
Having taken aim, he saw his attempt roll up a small hill, pause, then painfully roll backward.
"This is going up the hill -- and that's got to go," an announcer said.
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It didn't keep going.
The ball found its peak height, then slowly trailed back toward Mannesero.
"Oh, wow," a second announcer said.
"That's going to come back," the first announcer followed. "All the way to his feet."
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Manassero was already at 6-over par through six holes and definitely felt the dark side of Pinehurst's speed.
"These are the nightmare starts that players are trying to avoid here," an announcer said.
Rory McIlroy in no mood to entertain personal life questions after news of his divorce from wife Erica Stoll and with his superb start at PGA Championship
"Whoops!" a fan tweeted.
"This US Open is kicking their a**," a second fan posted. "How many scores will there be in the 80s?"
John Daly previously had serious problems at Pinehurst.
Daly's seething frustration in 1999 is now the stuff of golf legend.
"I don't consider the US Open a major anymore," said Daly, after he received a big, fat 11 on the eighth green.
The United States golfer -- who has five PGA Tour wins and stunned the sports world with his miraculous victory at the 1991 PGA Championship -- felt that he'd been betrayed by a course that played too fast and was unfair to the best golfers on the planet.
Severely sloped edges of the greens were so unforgiving that Daly lost it when his ball came back to him again.
He walked up to a rolling ball, whacked it with his putter while the ball was still moving, and then kept walking.
The US Open is one of golf's most prestigious tournaments.
But for the 124th Open, Pinehurst has already been cruel and unforgiving up close.
Several golfers have been stunned as smooth shots have ended with total frustation.
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That was the case again on Friday as the second round began, when a golfer was forced to watch his ball slowly roll away from the hole.
While Brooks Koepka complained about a double standard, McIlroy felt Pinehurst's sting with a shot that will surely become a US Open classic.
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