DUBLIN, Ohio — Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler took a detour to Shinnecock Hills on their way to the Memorial and saw fairways a lot wider than what they have come to expect at a U.S. Open.The U.S. Open returns to Shinnecock Hills for the first time since 2018, when Brooks Koepka won during a tough, dry week in which no one finished under par.Scheffler had never been to the fabled course on New York’s Long Island, which held the second edition of the U.S. Open in 1896. This major is bigger than usual for the world’s No. 1 player because a victory would make him only the seventh player to complete the career Grand Slam.“It was kind of what I expected,” Scheffler said. “I had heard some rumors about how difficult the greens were. I was a little surprised at the width of the fairways, but the green complexes there are extremely difficult, and I think that’s where the greatest challenge comes from.”He also said the rough was thick and penal. That’s typical of a U.S. Open. A vintage U.S. Open has firm greens, and that looks to be the case, provided the weather cooperates.Narrow fairways? Not so much.“The fairways are very generous,” said McIlroy, who missed the cut with rounds of 80-70 when he first played a U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills. “They’re more generous than they wer …
