I’m taking a leaf out of Tiger’s book, reveals Rory
RORY McIlroy said he would go to Disney World to relax after producing a fairytale back nine to take the clubhouse lead in his opening round at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Florida.
The World No.1 came home in a five-under-par 31 to shoot six under.
“I’ll just rest up, maybe go to the Magic Kingdom for the afternoon and then get ready for tomorrow,” he smiled.
McIlroy was one over par through six holes before he spectacularly came to life at Bay Hill and rattled in five birdies and an eagle three in a blistering 11-hole stretch.
In times past, the Holywood star might have become frustrated by his failure to take advantage of windless, early morning conditions. But buoyed by a 7ft bogey save at his second hole, he put on a ball-striking exhibition to lead by a shot from Talor Gooch as Padraig Harrington made just one putt outside 10ft in his two-over 74.
“One of the biggest shots of the day was the bogey putt on 11,” said McIlroy, who birdied the 16th, 18th and the first before hitting a raking 259-yard draw from a fairway bunker to 24ft to set up an eagle three at the fourth.
“It gave me a little bit of momentum after an unforced error with the second shot, but after the birdie on 16 and the birdie on 18 to turn in one under, I started to get going and hit some really good shots on the way in.
“The thing about Bay Hill is that it’s always been about the par-fives and if you can play the par-fives well and play the rest of the course pretty conservatively and pick your spots, well that’s why Tiger (Woods) won eight times around here.
“He killed the par-fives and would pick and choose where he was going to be aggressive and I am trying to follow that plan.”
It was a disappointing day for the Irish in the European Tour’s Commercial Bank Qatar Masters where Danish teenager Nicolai Hojgaard (18) made six birdies in eight holes in a seven-under 64.
Hoping to follow his identical twin brother Rasmus into the winner’s circle on tour, he leads by a shot from the Netherlands’ Joost Luiten with Cormac Sharvin the best of the Irish, tied for 64th after a level-par 71.
Jonathan Caldwell shot 74, and Paris-based Kerry amateur Michael Young signed for a seven-over 78.
Eddie Pepperell, meanwhile, believes the manner of his disqualification from the Qatar Masters was “a fair distance away from common sense” as his hopes of qualifying for The Masters took a major blow.
Pepperell recovered from a slow start to card an opening level-par 71 at Education City Golf Club in Doha, only to be disqualified for signing for a lower score than he had taken on the 17 th.
The 2018 champion’s overall score was correct, but a second disqualification in his last six European Tour events left Pepperell struggling to secure a place at Augusta.
Pepperell began the week ranked 63rd in the world and needs to be inside the top 50 after the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play on March 30.
The 29-year-old, who was disqualified from November’s Turkish Airlines Open after running out of balls in the third round, wrote on Twitter: “My DQ today wasn’t due to me running out of balls, or hitting anyone, instead, I signed for a wrong score.
“My total, 71, was correct and I indeed signed for that. However, my partner had me down for a five on one hole where I made a six, and a four on another, where I made three.
“I picked him up on it and I changed the card to reflect the fact I made a six on hole 11 as opposed to a five, and a three on hole 16 as opposed to a four.
“I then however mistakenly changed the 17th hole, not the 16th hole on my scorecard, and handed it in. Therefore this meant I was disqualified.
“Quite disappointing as I took the time to change the original error, only to make a costlier one myself. I asked the referee if this had any bearing on my disqualification but it didn’t.
“The rules are the rules and I accept that, but I can’t help feeling that this particular way of disqualification is a fair distance away from common sense.”