It is often wise to watch a bit of the coverage of other athletes playing, more so if one is gearing up to play at a difficult course like Pinehurst No. 2. However, that is exactly what Rory McIlroy doesn’t do for tournaments, especially at the ongoing major championship, the 2024 U.S. Open. And the Northern Irishman’s strategy did, interestingly enough, pay off on Thursday when he shared the lead with Patrick Cantlay.

The 35-year-old was spotted in an interview after the second round of play at Pinehurst No. 2 talking about the same. McIlroy went ahead to divulge why he doesn’t prefer watching other people’s gameplay on the course. It turns out he would rather trust his own instincts than make the shots while remembering what he observed from other golfers!

Rory McIlroy doesn’t like to watch other people play

“I don’t like seeing where other guys are hitting it,” said McIlroy in his recent presser, when posed with a query regarding the same. He further added how he doesn’t like to observe people hitting putts on the greens while disclosing the reason behind his decision to not do so: “Because then, whenever I have a similar putt on the golf course, I’m going off the memory of what I think I saw on TV instead of seeing it with my own eyes. I’d rather just not have that option at all.”

The 4-time major champ did the same on Thursday when he had a tee time of 1:14 P.M. The golfer, apparently, went ahead to play on his instincts and card a flawless round of 5-under 65 while dishing out five birdies. But come Friday, he failed to replicate the performance after teeing up at 7:29 a.m. and registered a 2-over 72, including a birdie and three bogeys at T6. That’s not all. He might also end up watching the coverage, seeing as how his round got over early.

“I mean, this afternoon I’ll probably tune in a little bit and watch,” admitted McIlroy while alluding to his Friday round, which got over by 1:00 P.M. He was seemingly fine watching others play after his round but not before, as he emphasized the same again. “But yeah, before I go out to play, I’ve learned the hard way at times that I don’t need to be watching on the TV.”

While the Northern Irishman steers clear of other people’s gameplay ahead of the round, the same cannot be said for his fellow golfer on the field, Bryson DeChambeau. The LIV Golf pro was all up for observing the rest of the field play out the course all to help himself fare better on the greens.

Bryson DeChambeau doesn’t share the same views as McIlroy

“Oh, yeah, I love it,” said the ‘Scientist’ when asked about whether he watches the morning coverage before the start of his round. He mentioned how it helps him on the course as well, adding, “It’s good insight, great information, see how things are playing, where not to be, where to be.” Truly a stark contrast to Rory McIlroy.

His tactics also seem to have paid off on Thursday, seeing as how he teed up at 1:25 p.m. on the first round and carded four birdies and a bogey to score 3-under 67. DeChambeau, however, had to tee up early on Friday at 7:40 A.M. which would have caused him to miss out on watching others play. He, consequently, had a bit of a tougher round on the second day while registering a hard-fought 1-under 69 involving five birdies and four bogeys.

Different golfers, thus, have distinctive styles of gameplay. But who among them would come out victorious? That is something the fans can only wait and watch out for as the field of athletes aim for the title at the 2024 U.S. Open.