GOLF ROUNDUP
McIlory leads Mexico Championship
Rory McIlroy flirted with a hole-in-one on the same par 4 where Tiger Woods hit out-of-bounds with his first shot in Mexico.
That's about how their days went Thursday in the Mexico Championship in Mexico City.
McIlroy, already off to a solid start on the back nine, hit a 2-iron on the 305-yard opening hole at Chapultepec Golf Club that landed on the front of the green and was rolling just left of the pin when it settled 6 feet away, leading to an eagle that carried him to an 8-under 63 and a one-shot lead over Dustin Johnson.
Woods got the raucous Mexican introduction for his opening tee shot , a 5-wood that also landed on the wrong green. The ball bounced hard off a temporary green to the left and beyond the outof-bounds stake into the bushes.
And then he nearly did it again, and ultimately had to get up-and-down from 60 feet away in a bunker to escape with double bogey. After a burst of birdies , he struggled to make much the rest of the way and opened with a 71.
“I pulled across it to try and cut it and hit it dead off the toe,” Woods said. “Hit both of them dead off the toe.”
McIlroy's 2-iron was the signature shot in an exquisite start to this World Golf Championship. He was 6 under through an eight-hole stretch in the middle of the round, and a 20-foot birdie on No. 8 toward the end of his round is what gave him the lead over Johnson, who played in the group behind.
It was his second straight week with a 63.
“I wouldn't say it was easy,” McIlroy said. “I hit a lot of good golf shots, but I left myself a lot of tap-ins for birdies. As 63s go, I shot 63 at Riviera last week, but this felt probably a little more stress-free.”
He described his 2-iron as close to perfect, just how he envisioned it, a little cut to take off some distance in the thin air of Mexico City.
Romero leads Puerto Rico Open
Andres Romero shot a 6-under 66 in windy conditions Thursday to take the first-round lead in the PGA Tour's Puerto Rico Open.
Romero birdied three of his last five holes in a bogey-free round at Coco Beach Golf and Country Club.
“I always like playing in the wind, but of course it very tough for everyone,” Romero said.
The 37-year-old Argentine player won his lone PGA Tour titles in New Orleans in 2008 and has two European Tour victories.