Rory McIlroy battles to shoot an opening round of 71
Rory McIlroy started his opening round of The 151st Open at 2:59PM with Jon Rahm and Justin Rose. McIlroy choose to hit driver off the first hole but hit a great shot from 176 yards to settle for an opening par. His drive also missed the fairway on the second but hit a sensational shot from 117 yards to guarantee a tap in birdie. The fourth and fifth at Royal Liverpool are two good birdie chances but McIlroy played these two holes in a disappointing one over.
McIlroy made another bogey after missing a short range putt for par on the par four eight. “I didn't really get it going on the front nine. Was missing a few putts, and then missed that little one on the 8th hole”. The Northern Irishman hit a remarkable tee shot at the par three ninth to set up a makable birdie putt but unfortunately settled for a par. McIlroy shot an opening front nine of 36 shots.
McIlroy started the back nine with two pars on 10 and 11 before a frustrating bogey at the 12th hole. The 14th is one of the toughest holes at Royal Liverpool and McIlroy made an incredible putt for birdie. “A few putts started to go in on the back nine for me, which was nice to see”. The 15th is a par five which was playing downwind on day one which meant McIlroy’s drive went a ridiculous 350 yards. McIlroy took advantage of his big drive as he made his second birdie in a row at the 15th. The Northern Irishman had 160 yards for his second shot at the 16th but kept the momentum in his favour as he holed a great putt for par. He headed into his final two holes looking to shoot an opening under par round.
Little Eye is the new designed par three 17th hole which was playing 126 yards on day one. McIlroy was lucky with his tee shot as it held onto the front of the green. The 18th is a par five but played extremely difficult on day one. McIlroy hit his driving iron off the tee which reached the fairway but his second shot ended up in a greenside bunker. The bunker shot was tough which McIlroy failed to get out as the ball went back into his footprints. He was forced to put one of his legs outside the bunker but played a fantastic shot to give himself a putt for par. “Yeah, I wouldn't have been too happy walking off the 18th with a bogey, especially after the two shots I hit in there”. McIlroy held the putt for par to shoot an opening level par round of 71. “to get it back to even for the day, I'm pretty pleased with that”.
McIlroy followed up his opening round with a second round of 70. He is nine behind going into day three but is very capable of having a low round in the 60s.