A DAY HE had been building up to for years transpired to be a day Rory McIlroy will want to forget. From start to finish, the home favourite endured a nightmare round on the Portrush links, eventually signing for a disastrous eight-over 79.
McIlroy was given a huge reception on the first tee, but his hopes unravelled immediately as he hooked his opening iron shot out of bounds and the four-time Major winner never recovered.
He then pulled his second shot from the first tee into the rough, had to take a drop after finding an unplayable lie next to the green and two-putted to post an eight on the par-four first.
Advertisement
McIlroy briefly battled back after a bogey at the par-three third hole, but inexplicably three-putted the 16th from five yards for a double-bogey and then finished as he started, carding a triple-bogey on the last for a 79.
That left the 30-year-old 12 strokes adrift of clubhouse leader Shane Lowry, who rolled in five birdies in a fine four-under-par round of 67 earlier in the day.
“Whenever you play your first and last holes in a combined seven-over par, it’s going to be a pretty tough day,” McIlroy said.
“I always get nervous on the first tee. But once I got out there it felt normal, just like another golf tournament. But yeah it was a rough day, a bad start, bad finish and it added up to a pretty dreadful day.”
Calamity for Rory! 🙈
Three putts from no more than five feet results in a double bogey five and he is back to five over par!
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
124 Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
McIlroy's Open hopes in tatters after disastrous first round at Portrush
LAST UPDATE | 18 Jul 2019
A DAY HE had been building up to for years transpired to be a day Rory McIlroy will want to forget. From start to finish, the home favourite endured a nightmare round on the Portrush links, eventually signing for a disastrous eight-over 79.
McIlroy was given a huge reception on the first tee, but his hopes unravelled immediately as he hooked his opening iron shot out of bounds and the four-time Major winner never recovered.
He then pulled his second shot from the first tee into the rough, had to take a drop after finding an unplayable lie next to the green and two-putted to post an eight on the par-four first.
McIlroy briefly battled back after a bogey at the par-three third hole, but inexplicably three-putted the 16th from five yards for a double-bogey and then finished as he started, carding a triple-bogey on the last for a 79.
That left the 30-year-old 12 strokes adrift of clubhouse leader Shane Lowry, who rolled in five birdies in a fine four-under-par round of 67 earlier in the day.
“Whenever you play your first and last holes in a combined seven-over par, it’s going to be a pretty tough day,” McIlroy said.
“I always get nervous on the first tee. But once I got out there it felt normal, just like another golf tournament. But yeah it was a rough day, a bad start, bad finish and it added up to a pretty dreadful day.”
You can keep up to date with the leaderboard here.
© – AFP 2019
The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
79 Portrush Rory Rory McIlroy shocking The Open