Globe-trotting McIlroy frustrated
WENTWORTH, England — If golf can drive Rory McIlroy — the world No. 1 who just happens to have won twice in the past three weeks — to the brink of fury, then imagine what it must do to his rivals.
Or then, perhaps the Northern Irishman’s frustration Thursday was a simple gauge of the height of his standards nowadays. His 71 in the first round of the BMW PGA Championship here was his 20th consecutive stroke play round at par or better and when one puts together staggering streaks like that, the ambition must tend to zoom skywards.
McIlroy believes his frustrations are all to do with fatigue, as he is playing his fourth event in a fiveweek transatlantic run. The 26-year-old threw a club in disgust on the par-5 17th and although it was hardly the 3-iron he hurled deep into the lake at Doral at March, it showed his frayed state of mind.
He came into the week having played 265 holes in three weeks. That is a lot of golf, particularly when you have been in contention for most of those holes and those holes have been on opposite coasts in the U.S. and the south of England.
But fit as McIlroy is, it is fatigue between the ears that is affecting him.
“Physically, I’m all right,” the defending champion said. “I got back to the room at 4:30 p.m. (Wednesday) and didn’t leave until 6:30 a.m., so that’s 14 hours of rest right there. But mentally I can feel myself getting angry out there, which I haven’t been doing the last few weeks.”
McIlroy was asked if he needed to go on an anger management course, which seemed a little severe.
“No, I just need to stay in control of my emotions, because if I’m a little tired I get down on myself,” he said. “But now when I look at the leaderboard, I see that 1-under isn’t that bad. If that’s the worst score of the week, I’ll be doing OK.”
Indeed, McIlroy is in the top 25, on the same mark as world No. 6 Justin Rose, six behind the pacesetter, Francesco Molinari. The Italian’s flawless 65 was further evidence that he likes the West Course. He has finished in the top 10 for the past three years and is plainly too good to be 66th in the world rankings.
At 5-under is Swede Robert Karlsson and one shot further behind, in a group including Miguel Angel Jimenez, Marc Warren and Chris Wood.
With a record first-day attendance topping 20,000, this was a day as fine as the weather for the European Tour. DP World announced it would extend its sponsorship of the Race To Dubai finale for at least another five years.
But the biggest celebration came from the Londoner Andrew Johnston after making a hole-in-one on the 184-yard 10th hole and winning a new BMW.
After watching his ball take one hop and disappear, Johnston strode off the tee arms aloft. It was then that he spotted his friend James Wood hurdling the ropes and running in his direction. Johnston did likewise and when the pair met in the middle, they performed a huge chest bump. Despite the ace, the 26-year-old went on to shoot a 77. As McIlroy would testify, this is a silly game.