Rory’s taking the weight off
ANY BODY 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 Scot Martin Laird, who shot a threeunder 68 and Justin Rose, who was just one stroke behind.
McIlroy had spent much of the build-up patiently explaining why American TV analyst Brandel Chamblee was wrong to question his gym routine, detailing how it has eliminated the back problems that plagued him in his career.
Out early, he 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 f or another gain.
Riviera showed its teeth at the 15th 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 he 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 a 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.
Meanwhile, Danny Willett enjoyed an ideal start in the Maybank Championship Malaysia as he bids for back-to-back wins.
The Englishman was one over par after seven holes of his opening round in Kuala Lumpur, but birdied the eighth and ninth before coming home in 31 to card a six-under 65.
He chipped in for an eagle on the 13th, holed from 45 feet for birdie on the next and picked up another shot on the par-five 15th, before ending his round in style with another long birdie putt on the last, which slammed into the back of the hole before dropping.
Willett, who won the Dubai Desert Classic earlier this month, said: ‘ Fortunately a few things went our way today, so hopefully we can keep riding that wave.’
Willett is tied among a group of players, including compatriot Tommy Fleetwood, one shot behind leader Nathan Holman of Australia.