STRAINING CHAMPION
Angry Rory out to beat mental fatigue
RORY McILROY revealed mental tiredness was driving him mad as he continued his mission to play more than 400 holes in five weeks.
The world No.1 won two of his last three tournaments in America before jetting into London on Monday for the BMW PGA.
And despite holing up in his hotel room for 14 hours overnight the jetlagged Ulsterman admitted he struggled to control his emotions during an opening 71 that left him six shots adrift of leader Francesco Molinari.
The 26-year-old faces a fine after chucking his three-wood down the 17th fairway after hitting a poor approach to the par five.
Then the defending champion threw his ball into the water on the 18th after missing a birdie attempt.
After taking his tally to 283 competitive holes since a marathon run started in San Francisco on April 29 – and the Irish Open to come next week – he admitted he needs to add anger management to his game.
McIlroy said: “Physically I’m all right. I got back to my room last night in the hotel at 4.30pm and didn’t leave it until 6.30 this morning so there’s 14 hours of sort of rest – that was good.
“But mentally I was getting a bit down on myself out there and that’s something I haven’t been doing over the past few weeks. I was getting a bit angry and my patience was sort of wearing thin out there today.
“I need to stay in control of my emotions. If I’m a little tired or a little fatigued mentally I start to be hard on myself. I’ll try not to do that over the next few days.”
His Ryder Cup team-mate Victor Dubuisson also shot a 71 after missing the Players’ Dinner on Tuesday night for “personal reasons” and teeing up without playing a practice round.
Molinari, who played for Europe in 2010 and 2012, shot a bogey-free seven-under 65 to lead by a shot from Robert Karlsson.
A win on Sunday could lift the Italian from 66th in the world rankings to inside the top 30, securing his place in the US Open and The Open.
He said: “I missed the Masters this year after 22 Majors in a row and it was not a nice feeling so I hope I will be back soon.”
Karlsson has suffered problems with form and fitness since topping the Order of Merit in 2008, most famously withdrawing from the 2012 Open on the eve of the event because he was unable to start his backswing.
The 45-year-old Swede has happier memories of Wentworth though.
He shot a course-record 62 in the third round in 2010 after hiring a private jet to get back to London on Saturday because he had flown home to Monaco thinking he had missed the cut. Karlsson said: “That Sunday didn’t go so good because I was tired but it’s always great to be here.”
Bristol’s Chris Wood, who has fallen to world No.192 after five months out with a wrist injury, and Scot Marc Warren are in a group on four under.
Wood, 6ft 5in, said: “I broke a bone in my wrist playing tennis in October – it’s a long way to fall down for me.”
Londoner Andrew Johnston won a BMW M4 for a hole in one on the 10 – and chest-bumped best mate James Wood to celebrate.
He said: “It was just madness. It took one bounce, hit the flag and went straight in.”
Scotland’s Craig Lee aced the second on the way to a 75 but won nothing. The Stirling star started 5, 1, 5, 5, 5 – a real mixed bag.
Stephen Gallacher withdrew before his round with a wrist injury and Padraig Harrington lasted two holes before retiring.
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