Rocky ride for Rory in Las Vegas
RORY McILROY fired a four-under-par 68 in the first round of the CJ Cup Summit in Las Vegas yesterday during a rollercoaster round that left him well off the pace set by the on-fire Robert Streb.
The American was in sensational form as he scorched around the Nevada course in a phenomenal 61 shots which left him on 11 under heading into today’s second round.
McIlroy had his moments too, playing consistently to get to the turn with a couple of birdies, on the first and the par-five sixth.
After the turn, he notched a birdie on 10, bogeyed 11 and then got that shot back with another birdie at 12. An eagle on the parfive 14th was swiftly followed by another birdie before disaster struck on the penultimate hole.
The Co Down native got into all sorts of bother before leaving the 17th green chastened by the dropping of three shots with a demoralising seven. To his credit, McIlroy rallied for a birdie on the last and showed enough in his first round to suggest he could make a run in the remaining rounds.
It was a tough day for his Ryder Cup team-mate Shane Lowry, who never looked at ease on the course before finishing with a disappointing one-over 73.
Meanwhile, Frenchman Julien Guerrier opened up a one-shot lead after the opening day of the Andalucia Masters as world number one Jon Rahm equalled his worst ever round at a European Tour event.
Guerrier battled the wind brilliantly at the notoriously difficult Valderrama to card a 67, 11 shots better than Rahm, who was in a tie for 107th at seven over.
The US Open champion now faces a fight just to make the cut in his second consecutive event on home soil after finishing in a tie for 17th as two-time defending champion at last week’s Acciona Open de Espana.
Guerrier’s time in Spain has been more fruitful, with the 36year-old claiming a top-three finish last week to virtually assure his place on Tour next season.
He carded six birdies and two bogeys to get to four under on day one at the 1997 Ryder Cup venue and admitted he was enjoying playing with less pressure on his shoulders.
‘I think I’m more relaxed,’ he said. ‘I’m playing to shoot a low score, not save my card, that’s the main thing. We work every day, improve our game and it’s working at the end of the year.
‘It was really complicated today. The wind was growing stronger on the back nine.
‘I had two bogeys on the score card, very few, and six birdies. It’s good to have six birdies in these conditions.’
Last week’s winner Rafa Cabrera Bello was his nearest challenger at three under.
Elsewhere, Australia has cancelled its men’s and women’s Open tournaments in a hammer blow for the struggling domestic game as Covid-19 and travel restrictions continue to bite.
Organisers had planned a late-January, early-February window for the men’s Australian Open in Sydney after its original November schedule proved untenable.
But Golf Australia boss James Sutherland said enduring travel curbs and the country’s mandatory 14-day quarantine had left organisers with no choice but to cancel the flagship event for a second year in a row.