Rory McIlroy shoots an opening round of one under in AT &T Pebble Beach Pro-Am

Rory McIlroy played his first round of 2024 AT &T Pebble Beach Pro-Am at Spyglass Hills Golf Course. McIlroy played his first round with world number 32 Ludvig Aberg. The Northern Irishman started on the back nine and started with five pars in a row. Four-time major champion failed to take advantage of par five 11th and 14th at Spyglass Hills and had to settle for two disappointing pars. McIlroy made his first birdie of the round after rolling in a putt at his fifth hole.

McIlroy’s eight hole was a drivable 325 yard par four and his tee shot came to rest in a greenside bunker. McIlroy achieved a sensational up and down from a greenside bunker to reach two under. A par was good enough for McIlroy to shoot a front nine of 34. The Northern Irishman nearly lost his ball at his 10th hole and his second shot ended up just off the green. McIlroy’s 10th hole was a par five and reached three under after holing a short-range birdie putt. The Northern Irishman held a fantastic birdie putt at his 12th hole to reach four under.

McIlroy made it two birdies in a row after an extraordinary second shot on his 13th hole. Four-time major champion was starting to look impressive as he reached six under after 14 holes. McIlroy only had 152 yards for his second shot at his 15th hole and resulted in a three putt to drop his first shot on day one. McIlroy’s miss with his driver in Dubai was to the left and this happened again on his 16th hole and was forced to take a penalty drop. Northern Irishman missed a short-range par putt and dropped two shots in a row. McIlroy took a wrong drop which resulted in a two shot penalty.

McIlroy misjudged his second shot at his 17th hole and made a huge error as his birdie effort went off the green. A bad three holes dropping three shots as McIlroy went backwards to three under. McIlroy’s final hole was the ninth at Spyglass Hills and only had 134 yards for his second shot. A poor shot from McIlroy which missed the green but managed to avoid four bogeys in a row. McIlroy signed for an opening round of one under.

McIlroy’s opening round at Spyglass Hills could of been so much better but now has three rounds to play at Pebble Beach. Four-time major champion needs to improve on the par fives as he played them in level par on day one. McIlroy will go into day two eight shots behind day one leader Thomas Detry. McIlroy will have opportunities to make birdies over the weekend due to soft conditions but needs to keep bogeys off his card. It’s always an interesting watch with McIlroy but hopefully he continues to climb the leaderboard over the weekend. It’s a big weekend for McIlroy as a top three finish could be good enough to return to world number one.

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