Rory McIlroy makes US Open prediction after watching rival run away with title

Rory McIlroy has dismissed any chances of a repeat of Martin Kaymer's dominant victory at Pinehurst No. 2 in 2014.

Despite a solid start with a bogey-free round, mirroring his performance from his 2014 Open Championship win, McIlroy faced challenges in the North Carolina heat on Friday, carding a two-over 72.

The Northern Irish star, who is sitting three-under as the weekend approaches, shared his thoughts, saying: "I was 2-over pretty early. My goal going into that second nine was if I could get it back to even for the day, I would have been pretty happy. Got that birdie on 3. I was trying to claw one back there. Ultimately I gave one back again."

McIlroy, currently world No. 3, believes the course setup and tricky pin positions will keep the leaderboard tight.

He reflected on Kaymer's eight-shot triumph the last time the tournament was held at this venue but feels the outcome will be different this time around. "With the way the golf course is and the way some of those hole locations are, I don't see anyone running away with it today, building up too much of a lead. That's certainly what Martin did a few years ago here. It will be interesting to see how it all pans out this afternoon."

McIlroy's hopes of capitalising on what he believed would be favourable early conditions and pristine greens were dashed as he, alongside world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and PGA Championship victor Xander Schauffele, commenced their round.

The Northern Irishman failed to replicate his previous day's stellar performance, with a missed birdie opportunity on the par-five 10th hinting at the struggles ahead.

McIlroy's round was marred by early setbacks with bogeys on the 11th and the challenging par-three 15th. He managed to claw back with a vital birdie on the third and an impressive chip-in for par before making the turn, but another bogey followed, contributing to a rollercoaster round amid tough playing conditions.

The four-time major champion expressed his frustration with the demanding greens, saying: "It just requires a lot more thought. Even though I hit a great drive up the 8th hole, I had 151 adjusted to the hole. I'm trying to land it 146. I can't land it 144 because it's not going to get up there. I can't land it 148 because it's going to go over the back of the green.

"You just need to have a lot of precision. I feel like for the most part I've done that well this week. I've got the ball pin-high quite a lot, which is really important. I'm not trying to land the ball pin-high. You're trying to hit it to a number with a wedge, and then with a mid-iron you're trying to land it 30 feet short of the pin to try to get it pin-high.

"Just a little more thought and consideration to everything that you're doing. Very conservative strategy off the tee. And because most of us are playing conservative off the tee, with irons you can aim down one side of the fairway to try to give yourself better angles to these pins."

Bryson DeChambeau used his unique style of play to lead halfway through with five birdies, marking a very respectable 69.