Bearing the tell-tale signs of a man relaxed and comfortable in his own skin, Rory McIlroy – the “Just Do It” logo on his white cap marrying well with his pink Nike hoodie – has arrived at this 126th edition of the US Open Championship sticking to a philosophy that less is more in his tournament preparations.McIlroy, the world number two and Masters champion, has played just once since last month’s US PGA – a tied-12th in the Memorial. Time with his coach Michael Bannon at Wentworth last week rather than playing the Canadian Open was his preferred method of preparation in his bid for a second US Open title, his win at Congressional in 2011 a memory that has aged with time.Of that decision not to have a coach on site with him during championships, McIlroy said: “It’s really me leading and saying: ‘Okay, this is what I’m feeling, this is what I want to do. Tell me if I’m completely off. If not, then we’ll go from there.’“I’ve always wanted ownership because your coach can’t be out there on the golf course with you when things start to go wrong, and you need to know how to manage your patterns. I feel like over the years I’ve definitely gotten better at that, and I think that’s part of the reason why my consistency has been improving as my career has went on.”This is McIlroy’s 18th appearance in the championship but the reduced playing schedule he has adopted in recent years is with the intention of contending in each Major, with this links on Long Island having its own special appeal for the Northern Irishman.“I think this course, it demands so much patience, and it can really lure you into taking on things that you probably shouldn’t,” said McIlroy, who has taken to playing to the middle of greens at these examinations rather than going flag hunting. “The strategy that I’ve employed at the US Open over the past few years has served me well. It hasn’t gotten me the trophy, but it’s gotten me pretty close a few years. But I definitely feel like I’ve become a lot better of a US Open player by trying to really stay patient throughout the week and not taking on too much.”Practice rounds at the 2026 US Open at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on June 15th, 2026. Photograph: Warren Little/Getty Images That win at Congressional all of 15 years ago was followed by a spell of four missed cuts in seven US Opens which led to a reappraisal by McIlroy of his approach to playing this particular championship. The result? A run of six top-10s in the last seven years, including runner-up finishes to Wyndham Clark in 2023 at Los Angeles Country Club and a heartbreaking, brutal loss to Bryson DeChambeau in 2024 at Pinehurst.Those close calls, though, would indicate McIlroy has identified this as a championship where his mental game allies well with his physical shot execution. “It’s the best championship test in [the United States],” said McIlroy of Shinnecock Hills. “I think it tests all aspects of the game: driving, iron play, you need to have your wits about you on the greens. It’s a lot of strategy, thoughtfulness.”[ Adam Scott to make 100th consecutive Major appearance at Shinnecock HillsOpens in new window ]And while McIlroy’s playing schedule has reduced these past couple of years, as he has got older and perhaps even wiser, his preparations for this latest examination – on a course which played on the edge in 2004 when Retief Goosen won and in 2018 when Brooks Koepka triumphed – has been forensic, with an advance visit ahead of the Memorial and an early weekend arrival ahead of everyone to strategise in relative peace and quiet.For sure, given the history of those two most recent US Opens here, there is concern in the player locker room about the course going over the boundaries of fairness, especially with gusts of 65km per hour and more anticipated later in the week.“As the week goes on, you have the ability for the course to get firmer and faster. I think with this golf course, only up until a certain point. We’ve seen what’s happened here the last two US Opens. It doesn’t need to get that fast to play incredibly difficult and challenging.“I’d say the greens [on Monday] probably averaged about 11½ [on the stimp]. They certainly don’t need to be any faster than that. I think with the wind they’re expecting on Thursday, I’d say it seems they’d want to get the greens back to the 10s, 10½, something like that, just because of how heavy the wind is gong to be, that’s where you just have to use a little bit of caution.“As well, Thursday, Friday is difficult because there’s two waves, and you want to try to protect the competitive integrity of the tournament and try to make it somewhat fair for everyone. Obviously, it’s an outdoor sport, and you can’t control everything.”The actual course set-up, however, remains in the hands of the USGA and McIlroy et al can just hope that the element of fairness is applied – with water set to be applied between those waves of early/late tee-times for the first two rounds – so that their golf becomes the focus.