Mcilroy has to iron out kinks with new clubs after shaky start
His clubs were shiny but his game was rusty. Rory McIlroy’s first competitive day with Nike did not go well as he visited a car park en route to a 3-over 75 in the first round of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
So much for the “seamless” transition. In truth, the world No. 1 would have been foolish to expect anything less than a few teething problems. McIlroy acknowledged as much after a round that featured two double bogeys. Yet he was not about to lay the blame for misfiring on his weapons.
“I feel like I was a little bit rusty, not playing any competitive golf for eight weeks,” he said. “Of course, it takes time to get used to (the new clubs). It’s a little bit of an experimental period. I guess when you’re going out with new stuff you’re always going to be a little anxious. I just felt like I wasn’t swinging that well. For the most part I was very happy with everything.”
The longest stick and shortest stick were the exceptions. “It’s probably the driver and the putter that require the biggest adjustment, as you need to drive it in the fairway around here to make a score,” he said. “It was also more about being committed to it and I feel that I can release this driver a lot more and that’s a plus.”
McIlroy certainly released his drive on the third (his 12th) — into a tree and from there out of bounds. This was the second six he recorded on a par-4, his first on the 15th (his sixth) also the result of a wayward drive. In all, McIlroy hit only five fairways.
That is not good for one of the best drivers the game has ever seen. His Nike VR-1 is red and the panic merchants will already be spotting danger with the Masters three months away. McIlroy is not anxious.
“It’s still a learning process,” he said. “But I’ve got here and then four weeks off (before he returns at the WGC Matchplay) to get everything ready for the States.”
“Here” might consist of just 18 more holes. McIlroy is outside the top 80, eight shots behind the leaders, Justin Rose and Jamie Donaldson. By Friday, he could be on his way to Melbourne to watch his girlfriend, Caroline Wozniacki, in the Australian Open. But do not discount McIlroy’s chances totally. The last time he shot a 75 was in the PGA Championship he won it by eight shots.
The 23 year-old is three behind his playing partner Tiger Woods, who shot a levelpar 72. The world No. 2 awoke Thrusday to find his name in the National Enquirer. The magazine claimed that Woods had asked his ex-wife Elin Nordegren to remarry him, proposing on Christmas Day. “I’m not going to comment on my private life,” he said.
He could not avoid commenting on his tee shot on the first (his 10th). It travelled no further than 120 yards, coming up short of the fairway. With children close by, Woods reeled off three profanities. He had turned in a 2-under, but bogeyed the next two and finished off with a three-putt.
“I was not committed to the shot.” he said. “I had a strategy, I didn’t keep to it and paid the price.”