Erin Hills and Rory McIlroy: a match made in Wisconsin

Rory McIlroy was 17 years old and about to turn pro when Erin Hills opened its doors as a public golf course.

So, it’s pretty unlikely that designers Michael Hurdzan, Dana Fry and Ron Whitten sat around a table and thought about building a course that was perfectly suited to the game of this Irish golf prodigy.

But that’s what they did.

Erin Hills is long, wide, currently wet, and very unlike the traditional courses used to host the U.S. Open. It’s going to play somewhere around 7,700 yards long.

“I don’t think it’s a secret that I feel my driver is one of my biggest weapons in my bag,” McIlroy said Tuesday afternoon. “If I can get that in my hands more regularly, and the field has to hit driver more, that plays into my hands too.

“It’s a long golf course and it’s only going to play longer. That benefits a few guys, and luckily I’m one of them.”

Now they still plan to play the tournament and not just go right to handing the trophy to McIlroy and for good reason. McIlroy says his health is fine, but anecdotal evidence gives you pause.

In January, he suffered a stress fracture of one of his ribs, a common injury of both professional and weekend golfers.

“It’s just a matter of me hitting a lot of balls and that repetitive stress and strain [on the ribs],” McIlroy said. “[If] you hit 100 drivers a day and you swing at the ball at 120 miles an hour, it’s going to take its toll a little bit.”

He has played in only five tournaments this year and only one since he finished tied for seventh in the Masters. That was a tie for 35th at the Players Championship in mid-May.

“I’m feeling better,” McIlroy said. “Obviously I’ve had a few weeks off to try and rest this injury that I’ve had all year. I’ve played eight or nine rounds of golf [in the past 10 days]. And I feel really good as long as I manage the load that I put through in terms of practice and hitting a lot of balls.”

Fans walk along the course during a practice round prior to the 2017 U.S. Open at Erin Hills on June 13.

(Streeter Lecka / Getty Images)

What that means is hitting two bags of balls a day as opposed to five.

Paul Azinger, a 12-time winner on the PGA Tour and current analyst for Fox, sees the lack of play rather than the injury as McIlroy’s biggest hurdle.

“I’ve always sized him up as one of those guys that doesn’t have to have his best stuff to get in contention and win,” Azinger said. “I don’t expect McIlroy to be clicking on all cylinders at the start, but I think his goal is to peak on the weekend.

“And if he looks at it that way, and he’s patient, he doesn’t have to bring his best stuff right out of the gate.”

In 2015, McIlroy ruptured an ankle ligament playing soccer with friends and missed the British Open.

“I haven’t stepped foot on a football pitch since,” he said.

There is no doubt that McIlroy is very much a competitor looking for every edge. It’s in part why he had already won four majors by age 25. But he hasn’t won one since taking his second PGA Championship in 2014.

He was incredulous Tuesday when he learned that the menacing fescue in the rough was being cut much lower on four holes.

“We have 60 yards from left line to right line [of the fairway],” McIlroy said. “You’ve 156 of the best players in the world here, if we can’t hit it within that avenue, you might as well pack your bags and go home.

“These are the widest fairways we’ve ever played in a U.S. Open. Even the first and second cut is another 10 yards on top of that. So if you’ve got 50 or 60 yards to hit into and you’re complaining about the fescue that’s wider than that, I don’t think that’s an issue.”

The ruling U.S. Golf Assn. said that the recent rain had made some of the fescue areas unplayable.

While the fescue controversy hasn’t quite reached the level of having “gate” attached to it, the other topic of conversation is how few of the players have played this course.

Jordan Spieth played it in an amateur tournament and Steve Stricker, who is from this area, also has played the course prior to this past week.

McIlroy, again looking for the edge, got ahead of that game by having architect Fry walk the course with him. McIlroy has already played 45 holes since Saturday.

“You can be aggressive off the tee,” said McIlroy, who is ranked second in the world behind defending champion Dustin Johnson. “You can be aggressive with your approach shots. If you do miss a green, it’s not that you are going to be chipping out of the thick rough. It goes in these collection areas and runoffs. It’s a little bit of a different challenge than what we faced in the U.S. Opens in the past.”

All of the factors that make up the U.S. Open, be it weather, wind or widely exaggerated tee and pin placements, seem to favor McIlroy.

It’s as if it was designed that way.

john.cherwa@latimes.com

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