McIlroy so proud after gutsy display

Rory McIlroy proved that he knows how to dig deep after all when he bounced back brilliantly from an early quadruple bogey seven to open with a one-under 71 in Jack Nicklaus’ Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village in Ohio.

Only four shots behind early leader Spencer Levin, he matched playing partner and world No 1 Luke Donald while Tiger Woods carded a two-under 70. Annoyed that he was poorly prepared for the BMW PGA at Wentworth last week and missed his second successive cut, the 23-year old not only showed he can grind out a score when things go wrong but proved that the hard work he has done on his game since then is starting to pay off.

“It wasn’t the start that I wanted to get off to, being four-over through three holes, especially after the last few weeks,” said McIlroy, who was delighted to take just 25 putts yesterday. “I was just like, here we go again. But I hung in there well and I’m proud of myself for the way I fought back.”