Rory McIlroy says tournament organisers must make sure conditions at this week’s US Open at Shinnecock Hills do not “get out of control” after the controversy that dominated the championship’s past two visits to the New York course.

Tiger Woods led criticism of the set-up in 2004 when he said the United States Golf Association (USGA) “lost control of the course” during Retief Goosen’s victory, while there were farcical scenes in 2018 when Phil Mickelson deliberately struck a moving ball to avoid his putt from running off the 13th green.

Despite the negative commentary, England’s 2022 champion Matt Fitzpatrick this week said he “never believed they lost” the grip on conditions six years ago.

But Northern Ireland’s McIlroy feels the USGA – which admitted to making mistakes in 2004 when preparing the Long Island layout for the championship – must factor in the possibility of heavy winds drying out the course.

“They’re just going to have to be wary of not getting the greens too fast. There is expected to be a pretty heavy wind for a couple of days, so it’s about making sure it doesn’t get out of control,” the six-time major winner told BBC Sport NI.

Speaking earlier in his news conference, the world number two pointed out the weather forecast was predicting “gusts of 35-40 miles per hour” on Thursday.

He added: “There were gusts of 25 to 30 (mph on Monday), and balls wouldn’t stand on the 11th green. That’s where you just have to use a little bit of caution.

McIlroy said the organisers need to “protect the competitive integrity of the tournament and make it fair for everyone”, although conceded that the split between the morning and afternoon groups of players on Thursday and Friday made it difficult.