McIlroy plays it cool after steady start
Six strokes off the lead after the first 18 holes of the British Open, with 54 more to go, the US Open champion will not be too downcast about the unusual experience for him this year of not leading a major after the first round.
That was the situation for McIlroy on the Thursday evening at the Masters and US Open but the 22-year-old, with the golfing world at his feet following his Congressional Country Club success last month, was far from disappointed at the change in circumstance.
“Definitely a good way to play in the conditions,” McIlroy said. “I felt, like, especially after the start, bogeying two of the first three holes, that playing the last 15 in one under par was a pretty good effort.
“I gave myself a few chances that I maybe could have converted but I holed a couple of nice putts for par, and yeah, it was a day where you just needed to grind out a score. Anywhere around even par was a good start.”
Those who criticised him for not playing a tournament between Congressional and Sandwich will have felt vindicated by the Holywood golfer’s slow start alongside American hopeful Rickie Fowler and South African two-time champion Ernie Els.
On an overcast morning with the wind gusting up to 30 miles per hour, McIlroy bogeyed the par-four first and the par-three third as he struggled to find the pace of the greens with his putter.
There were also missed opportunities when birdie putts went begging at the sixth and seventh before he finally got their measure and sent down the first of two birdies for the day at the par-four eighth.
There was one more wobble, a bogey at the 13th but that was corrected at the 17th, which he birdied from eight feet.
“On a day like this, I know better than most people, you can shoot a high number and put yourself out of the golf tournament. So it was nice to go out and shoot a decent score.
“I said yesterday, if the conditions stayed the same I’d take two 70s over the first two days, and if I shoot 69 tomorrow with similar conditions, I’ll be really happy going into the weekend.
“I feel like (if) you keep it around level par this week you’re going to have a good chance.”
McIlroy was not unduly worried about his putting stroke, just the speed of the infamously undulating Royal St George’s greens and he took positives from having given himself a few looks at birdie, even if he failed to convert.
“Missed a couple, but it felt pretty solid,” he said. “I was patient, really patient out there. Mentally I was very good. I felt I could have hit it in the fairway a bit more. I missed a few fairways, and from there you can’t really give yourself many chances for birdies, and I holed a few nice putts for par in the middle of the round, and that’s what you need to do, especially in majors and when they’re in tough conditions like this.”
And if he had been affected by the huge increase in expectation that followed his victory at Congressional and the plethora of predictions about surpassing Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus over the course of his career, McIlroy wasn’t showing it.
“I felt relatively calm, surprisingly,” he said of his emotions on the first tee. “Usually I do get a few first-tee nerves, but I felt good.
“I was just concentrating on hitting a good three wood down the fairway and trying to get off to a decent start. I bogeyed the first, which wasn’t a great start, but sort of worked my way through the round.”
With that steady-as-she-goes attitude and a repeat of the grind he displayed yesterday, McIlroy can expect to be right in there in the mix come Sunday afternoon and in more familiar majors territory that mid-division.
“I don’t feel as if I have to do that much differently. I just need to keep it tight, keep it on the fairway, hit a few greens and just take your birdies here and there because I think that’s going to be the key this week, to keep it around even par.”
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
