HE’S FIVE SHOTS off the lead but Rory McIlroy can be very satisfied with his first round at the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits.
Returning from an ankle injury which forced him to withdraw from last month’s Open, the defending champion carded a score of -1 for the day in windy conditions in Wisconsin.
The overnight lead belongs to Dustin Johnson, whose impressive -6 round keeps him one stroke clear of Sweden’s David Lingmerth heading into Friday.
McIlroy had a bogey-birdie start to his first round, before playing five consecutive pars — including an excellent shot from the water to the green on the fifth to save par.
A bogey on the 8th was followed by a birdie to conclude his front nine. Further birdies on 11 and 16 brought McIlroy to -2, but a bogey on the difficult 18th saw the 2014 champion settle for a 71 — an encouraging start given his lengthy injury absence.
“It was a game of two nines, I guess you could say,” McIlroy told Sky Sports afterwards. “I was really just trying to hold on in the front nine, and then there was a few more chances on the back.
“But it was great to be back, obviously. I was quite nervous on the first tee, not having hit a competitive shot in about two months. I think I was always going to be a little bit nervous.
“The ankle feels great. It’s felt great all week. It’s obviously not an issue. I think you can see how I’m hitting it out there; I can go after it and I’ve got full confidence in it.”
McIlroy was in the marquee group alongside double-major winner Jordan Spieth, who also carded a 71, and Open winner Zach Johnson, who finished three strokes further back.
Despite an encouraging start, Graeme McDowell signed off with three consecutive bogeys to finish +1. Pádraig Harrington, Shane Lowry and Darren Clarke will all have work to do if they’re to make it into the weekend, following final scores of +4, +6 and +6 respectively.
Leaders
Dustin Johnson -6; David Lingmerth -5; Russell Henley, Matt Kuchar, Harris English, JB Holmes, Jason Day, Danny Lee, Matt Jones, Scott Piercy all -4.
Selected others
Justin Rose -3; Paul Casey, Martin Kaymer both -2; Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth both -1; Bubba Watson, Lee Westwood, Phil Mickelson, Luke Donald all level par; Rickie Fowler, Graeme McDowell both +1; Tiger Woods, Ian Poulter, Patrick Reed, Zach Johnson all +3; Adam Scott, Pádraig Harrington both +4; Shane Lowry, Darren Clarke both +6.
Click here to view the full leaderboard.
Shelbourne ,Cork, Rovers, Drogheda, and Bray and Limerick this season all have had same problems in recent year’s….. The fai need to sort out their problem child once and for all
@Tony O Connor: Fai can’t be trusted to sort it out. Fans took control of Cork City and slowly but surely turned the club around,(From going to Derry with just 12 players, to the bus refusing to take them to Dublin for a game because bus company had’nt been paid).A few short years later look where they are now, League Champions and fai cup holders, playing in Champions League! Regular crowds between 4,000 and 6,000, (more for european games). What a turn around because of the fans taking control of their club and running it the way it should be run, not because of fai involvement.
@running man: great point about the fans controlling the club. Munich is 50% controlled by fan and it’s a massive success. Different situation I know but fans don’t want to make money and leave they want to make a good squad that competes for silverware every season
@Arry Ryan: all bundesliga clubs are majority owned by club supporter groups with the exception of one or two clubs who have found a way around the 50+1 “football clubs will not be allowed to play in the Bundesliga if commercial investors have more than a 49 percent stake”
Maybe the league should return to amateur status? There are only a few spectators at any game & there are only tiny TV or advertising revenues. The players are not generating enough income to pay their wages.
@Locojoe: You obviously haven’t been at a City match in Turners Cross.
@Locojoe: Its not up to the players to generate revenue, all they can do is go out and try to win. Its the owners of financial officer at bigger clubs who deal with finances.
@Locojoe: so your basically saying that clubs in league 2/1 over in England should go amateur right? Majority of clubs get small crowds over their, and then you look at cork averaging 5000, sham/dundalk averaging over 3000 and Sligo/pats averaging up and over 2000 people per game.
Yet your here laying into the LOI saying it should go “amateur” when the crowds have been improving year on year.
Limerick were getting 2 to 3 thousand at games last year , and then manager sacked , another left them in the lurch and joined a team back home , and said he was brought in to do a hatchet job , and was leaving the club in a good position , . Pat o Sullivan , who was never shy in speaking out , has for this past while stayed silent. The fai need to send in accountants / auditors to check their books , for a start .
With the battle between GAA and soccer for supporters and players along with our relatively small population very few clubs in this country will ever be on a stable footing. The advertising for games is non existant. The marketing from the club’s and FAI is appalling.
I have been an ireland season ticket holder for years and never once gotten an email about my nearest club which would be tallaght to ask about interest in going to club games. The game in Ireland is dead right now and without a complete new set of standards for clubs, financial and marketing it has no hope of surviving
@ChuckE: “I have been an ireland season ticket holder for years and never once gotten an email about my nearest club which would be tallaght to ask about interest in going to club games.”
You just explained perfectly why so many LoI fans wont go to Ireland games, why fund a sporting organisation when said organisation does literally nothing to improve its local league. Even an email which can be setup to be auto sent and they don’t even do that.
FAI are a joke. Sligo Rovers have to go 77 days without a home league fixture due to FAI planning. Imagine shutting a business for 77 days and expecting it to survive.
Anybody know what a typical wage at a club like Limerick might be?
@Jumperoo: some junior soccer players are getting more than some at limerick , another fai problem to solve? Without burying their heads in the sand?
You still need big financial backers and no amount of wind blowing up my ass is going to tell me that cork dont have big financial backers. No club on FANS ALONE funding it would survive in the LOI. Rumours of two groups looking for 100% ownership when the season finishes. As I said rumours.
@Trevor Beacom: Bohemians have been members-owned throughout their 128-year existence…
@Trevor Beacom: Cork City is 100% owned by the fans with no outside financial backing. FACT.