RORY MCILROY ENDURED a rollercoaster 14 holes on the opening day of the $9 million World Golf Championships Cadillac Championship.
The Northern Irishman shot five birdies and four bogeys to stand one-under par with four holes remaining before darkness halted the opening day at storm-hit Doral.
McIlroy opened with a birdie at the 10th and followed up with birdies at 12 and 13, but the streak would not continue and instead he began to blow hot and cold.
A bogey at 14, birdie at 15; he closed his first nine with back-to-back bogeys before responding with a birdie at the first. He would give back another shot at the par-3 fourth to stand in a share of 13th.
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For all the inconsistency, McIlroy is just two shots off clubhouse leader Harris English while Tiger Woods also struggled, standing two over par through 10 holes at the close of play.
English fired a three-under par 69 and was among only six players to complete 18 holes at Doral’s Blue Monster course, where a severe storm stopped play in the afternoon.
Four others — Italy’s Francesco Molinari and Americans Jason Dufner, Hunter Mahan and Patrick Reed — were still on the course at three-under when darkness fell. Dufner had two holes to finish while Molinari had three, Mahan had four and Reed had seven remaining.
Woods, who withdrew in the final round from last week’s PGA Tour Honda Classic with back spasms, shares 47th on two-over, having just made a bogey at the par-5 10th by missing an eight foot par putt.
Woods, who made eight pars and a bogey at the par-3 fourth on the front nine, showed no sign of pain but faces 26 holes on Friday.
English, a 24-year-old American, won his first US PGA title last year at Memphis and took his second win last November at Mayakoba in one of the first events of this season under the US tour’s new scheduling format.
English began on the back nine and birdied the par-5 12th before taking bogeys at 16 and 18. But he responded with back-to-back birdies at one and two, followed with another at the fifth and closed with a 46-foot birdie putt at the ninth.
Reigning Masters champion Adam Scott, who can overtake Woods for the top ranking spot with a win this week, was two-under after 10 holes thanks to birdies at the par-5 eighth and par-3 ninth.
Among those with Scott in a share of sixth were South Africans Charl Schwartzel and Louis Oosthuizen and Americans Zach Johnson, Russell Henley, Matt Kuchar and Dustin Johnson.
McIlroy blows hot and cold, but just two off the lead at WGC
RORY MCILROY ENDURED a rollercoaster 14 holes on the opening day of the $9 million World Golf Championships Cadillac Championship.
The Northern Irishman shot five birdies and four bogeys to stand one-under par with four holes remaining before darkness halted the opening day at storm-hit Doral.
McIlroy opened with a birdie at the 10th and followed up with birdies at 12 and 13, but the streak would not continue and instead he began to blow hot and cold.
A bogey at 14, birdie at 15; he closed his first nine with back-to-back bogeys before responding with a birdie at the first. He would give back another shot at the par-3 fourth to stand in a share of 13th.
For all the inconsistency, McIlroy is just two shots off clubhouse leader Harris English while Tiger Woods also struggled, standing two over par through 10 holes at the close of play.
English fired a three-under par 69 and was among only six players to complete 18 holes at Doral’s Blue Monster course, where a severe storm stopped play in the afternoon.
Four others — Italy’s Francesco Molinari and Americans Jason Dufner, Hunter Mahan and Patrick Reed — were still on the course at three-under when darkness fell. Dufner had two holes to finish while Molinari had three, Mahan had four and Reed had seven remaining.
Woods, who withdrew in the final round from last week’s PGA Tour Honda Classic with back spasms, shares 47th on two-over, having just made a bogey at the par-5 10th by missing an eight foot par putt.
Woods, who made eight pars and a bogey at the par-3 fourth on the front nine, showed no sign of pain but faces 26 holes on Friday.
English, a 24-year-old American, won his first US PGA title last year at Memphis and took his second win last November at Mayakoba in one of the first events of this season under the US tour’s new scheduling format.
English began on the back nine and birdied the par-5 12th before taking bogeys at 16 and 18. But he responded with back-to-back birdies at one and two, followed with another at the fifth and closed with a 46-foot birdie putt at the ninth.
Reigning Masters champion Adam Scott, who can overtake Woods for the top ranking spot with a win this week, was two-under after 10 holes thanks to birdies at the par-5 eighth and par-3 ninth.
Among those with Scott in a share of sixth were South Africans Charl Schwartzel and Louis Oosthuizen and Americans Zach Johnson, Russell Henley, Matt Kuchar and Dustin Johnson.
- © AFP, 2014
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Cadillac Championship Doral Rory McIlroy Tiger Woods WGC