McIlroy shoots sizzling 65 to leave Tiger in the shade
RORY ENJOYS LOWEST OPENING ROUND IN A MAJOR SINCE 2011
SOUTHERN Hills brought southern comfort for Rory McIlroy yesterday as he ended his first-round problems in majors in spectacular style at the 104th US PGA Championship.
Drawing on the inspiration that followed his wonderful final-round 64 at the Masters, the Northern Irishman totally outplayed his illustrious playing partners Tiger Woods — clearly struggling with his right leg — and Jordan Spieth with a sparkling 65 for a one-shot lead among the morning wave.
It was McIlroy’s lowest opening round in a major since he began with a 65 on his way to a runaway victory in the 2011 US Open at Congressional, and might have been still better given he dropped two shots in his last four holes. But a fine birdie at his 18th hole, the 9th on the course, meant his score was a fairer reflection of his play, which was majestic for much of the round.
Was this really the same player who, since his last major victory in this event in 2014, has delivered such opening-round stinkers as a 78 at the 2019 Open at Portrush and a 76 at the Masters last year? In 27 opening rounds in majors since 2015, McIlroy was a dismal 35 over par coming into this event, with less than one in five such rounds completed in the 60s.
What a way to demolish such a woeful statistic. He said after Augusta that he thought his final round would give him momentum going forward and here was a vivid illustration.
McIlroy looked a man at ease, swinging beautifully and mentally freed up, with his only mistakes coming at two brutal par threes, the 6th and the 8th, where he was hardly alone in notching bogeys.
Spieth looked average by comparison, his career Grand Slam hopes taking a hit with a mediocre 72. Poor Woods looked old, his gait a stark contrast to the bouncing stride of McIlroy, who outdrove him by 100 yards on occasion. No shame in that, given all that Tiger has been through, but if he’s serious about only playing in majors if he thinks he can win, one look at McIlroy must have left him wondering if the game is finally up.
Then there was his physical state. Over the closing holes of a round that stretched beyond five hours, the 46-year-old was clearly wincing after his tee shots, a sight that was at depressing odds with his belief before the tournament that the right leg that has suffered so much punishment will only get stronger. Could he call it quits at the 150th Open at St Andrews?
It’s long been one of the marvels of the modern game how far McIlroy hits the ball with his modest frame and a measure of how well he is striking it this season that he’s actually added length off the tee. The par-five 5th was a classic case in point. Without any wind assistance, his drive travelled 379 yards. Spieth and Woods (right) could only look on with envy.
What was most encouraging, though, was the improvement in the two areas of the game that have given McIlroy fits in recent years — distance control with his short irons and his putting. Both were wonderfully in tune, as he not only holed his share of birdie putts but also three vital ten footers for pars. All this took place before a vast gallery, as a considerable majority among the sellout crowd all chose one group as a way of getting to know this marvellous course following its restoration. Starting from the 10th, the thrills came early regarding Woods, as he played a deftly controlled approach to 3ft and rolled in the birdie putt. At the par-three 14th, he moved to two under with a 20ft-putt and the many thousands who had got up early for the 8.10am start were thankful that they did. Even at that stage, though, Woods was moving gingerly in his first appearance since the Masters. The ‘stinger’ tee shots with a long iron that he could hit down the middle in his sleep during his prime all headed right as he struggled to transfer weight from his right leg and swing freely though the ball. His lack of competitive edge became clear with a series of poor bunker shots. He would run up no fewer than seven bogeys in all and, before he faces a battle today to make the halfway cut, he will have to get that right leg in some sort of shape to complete 18 holes.
Will Zalatoris grew up playing golf in Dallas alongside Spieth and Masters champion Scottie Scheffler and is every bit as good in terms of ball striking. The only reason the 26-year-old is still waiting for his first win is due to his erratic putting but everything was in sync here as he holed a long one at his final hole to finish one shot behind McIlroy.
Alongside him is 32-year-old fellow American Tom Hoge, who won the Pebble Beach pro-am in January. Gritty Mexican Abraham Ancer, who went to college in Oklahoma, shot 67 as did veteran Matt Kuchar.
Scot Robert MacIntyre opened with a useful level-par round of 70, while Englishman Tyrrell Hatton finished on the same score in some style, holing a pitch shot on his closing hole, the 9th.
Oban left-hander MacIntyre, starting on the back nine, raced to two birdies at the 10th and 13th before dropping a shot at the par-four 1st.
Another bogey at the par-three 8th brought him back to level par but the 25-year-old was happy enough with his opening round.
‘Everyone is going to drop shots here,’ MacIntyre told Bunkered. ‘That’s my main thing in my head I can accept when I drop a shot in a major because everyone else is doing it, versus when you’ve got to shoot 25-under par to win a golf tournament, there’s not many dropped shots that the top guys are going to do.
‘We got nice weather to start with, not much wind, and I took advantage. I didn’t really miss a shot on the front nine. It was easy going, I probably should have been a couple more under.
‘Then on my back nine it was a lot tougher. A lot longer holes, a lot more crosswinds. But overall, level-par, we will take it.’
MacIntyre and Hatton were among a number of Europeans on that mark, including Alex Noren, Viktor Hovland and Francesco Molinari.