RORY MCILROY IS five shots off the early pace at the PGA Championship but the world number one had every reason to be pleased with his opening round at Whistling Straits.
Aside from the obvious factors — McIlroy hasn’t played competitive golf in seven weeks and many doubted if his injured ankle was up to the task — his afternoon tee time meant he was pitted against the tougher conditions.
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With Dustin Johnson safely in the clubhouse at -6, wind speeds hit about 25mph during the afternoon session.
Of the 78 players who started after lunch, only 13 — McIlroy and 12 others — managed to shoot under par.
And only five of those scored better than McIlroy’s 71: Marcel Siem, Emiliano Grillo, YE Yang (all 70), Scott Piercy (68) and David Lingmerth (67).
The luck of the draw, eh?
“I felt it was good. It was a solid round of golf,” McIlroy said afterwards. “I’m happy with the way I struck the ball.
“Obviously I was pretty nervous on the first tee. It was just getting back there. It was nice to get that opening tee shot out of the way.
“It wasn’t the best of starts, but to hit those two shots on the second hole and make birdie, that sort of settled me down and I could get into the round.
But I think anything under par this afternoon was a decent score. I set myself a target going into the back nine. I knew there would be a few chances, so I thought trying to shoot something under 70 was realistic.
McIlroy also played down any concerns over his ankle.
“As you can see out there, the way I’m hitting the ball and the way I’m getting around the golf course, I have full confidence in it. It doesn’t bother me one bit.”
This stat helps to put Rory McIlroy's opening round into perspective
RORY MCILROY IS five shots off the early pace at the PGA Championship but the world number one had every reason to be pleased with his opening round at Whistling Straits.
Aside from the obvious factors — McIlroy hasn’t played competitive golf in seven weeks and many doubted if his injured ankle was up to the task — his afternoon tee time meant he was pitted against the tougher conditions.
With Dustin Johnson safely in the clubhouse at -6, wind speeds hit about 25mph during the afternoon session.
Of the 78 players who started after lunch, only 13 — McIlroy and 12 others — managed to shoot under par.
And only five of those scored better than McIlroy’s 71: Marcel Siem, Emiliano Grillo, YE Yang (all 70), Scott Piercy (68) and David Lingmerth (67).
The luck of the draw, eh?
“I felt it was good. It was a solid round of golf,” McIlroy said afterwards. “I’m happy with the way I struck the ball.
“Obviously I was pretty nervous on the first tee. It was just getting back there. It was nice to get that opening tee shot out of the way.
“It wasn’t the best of starts, but to hit those two shots on the second hole and make birdie, that sort of settled me down and I could get into the round.
McIlroy also played down any concerns over his ankle.
“As you can see out there, the way I’m hitting the ball and the way I’m getting around the golf course, I have full confidence in it. It doesn’t bother me one bit.”
Solid start from McIlroy as he leads the Irish charge at the year’s final major
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Golf PGa Championship Rory McIlroy Whistle Down The Wind Whistling Straits