Rory’s good start lifts the weight

ANyBODy who thinks Rory McIlroy is spending too long in the gym must have had a weight lifted off their mind yesterday as the Northern Irishman marked his debut in the Northern Trust Open with an excellent opening round of 67.

The 26-year-old, playing in his first PGA Tour event of the season, muscled his way on to the early leaderboard with a fine display at Riviera in California. He was joined there by Englishman Justin Rose, who shot a two-under-par 69.

McIlroy had spent much of the build-up patiently explaining why American television analyst Brandel Chamblee was wrong to question his gym routine, detailing how it has eliminated the back problems that plagued him early in his career.

Out early, he quickly swatted away any fear that all the conjecture would prove an unwelcome distraction. McIlroy began at the 10th, a lovely short par four that offers a birdie opportunity to those who skilfully negotiate its 315 yards.

The world No 3 played it perfectly, holing from six feet for his birdie, then knocking two mighty blows on to the green at the 583-yard 11th before two putting for another gain.

What a start this was to his first competitive experience at one of America’s most storied courses, situated just off Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, Los Angeles.

Riviera showed its teeth at the 15th, however, as McIlroy picked up his first bogey. He did, however, make mincemeat of the course’s other two par fives — the 17th and the first — to move into red numbers, then birdied the seventh from three feet.

This is the third event Rose is playing in the four-tournament West Coast swing and the 35-year-old showed some form at Pebble Beach last week with a top- six finish. Like McIlroy, he was playing the Riviera course the wrong way round. Again like Rory, he picked up shots at the 10th, 17th, and first holes. Rose had a golden opportunity to pick up a further stroke at the celebrated par-three sixth — it might be the only hole in golf with a bunker in the middle of the green — but missed a birdie putt of less than five feet. He then bogeyed the eighth.

This was, nevertheless, a decent start, albeit one that left him trailing playing partner Bubba Watson, who set the early pace with a 66. Watson is a former winner of this event as well as double Masters champion.

Another early starter was Englishman Andy Sullivan, who fought back well from an untidy start by playing his back nine in two under to mark his debut in this event with a 71.