McIlroy off to great start at USPGA

Rory McIlroy made a superb opening to the USPGA Championship at Kiawah Island today – helped rather than hindered this time by a spectator.

As the thunderstorms of earlier in the week gave way to dry, calm and boiling hot conditions for the start of golf’s last major of the year, McIlroy grabbed three birdies in his first seven holes.

It could have all been undone, however, when he pulled his tee shot to the dangerous short 17th, his eighth.

The ball carried the lake with something to spare, but to shouts of “Fore” sailed into the crowd and could have finished in all manner of trouble.

At last month’s Open McIlroy’s hopes of second major title nosedived after he rebounded off a teenager’s head out of bounds late on the first day, but on this occasion it caught a lady on the hip and came back into a nice lie in the sand only 25 feet from the flag.

The 23-year-old Northern Irishman splashed out to six feet, saved his par and with a three-under-par back nine 33 was only one behind the early leader, 43-year-old American Ken Duke.

McIlroy had brought a cheer from the gallery before leaving the 17th, running back to give the female spectator the ball. Unlike Lytham, where the boy’s head was gashed, she seemed perfectly fine.

Last year’s US Open champion had kicked off with a 12-foot birdie putt, converted a 10-foot chance on the short 14th and then chipped to six feet at the long 16th – a hole which saw playing partner Jim Furyk, three under at the time, needing three attempts to putt up a bank right of the green and take a double bogey seven.

Alongside McIlroy were US-based Swede Carl Pettersson and big-hitting American Gary Woodland, but Tiger Woods was “only” level par after seven.

The four-time winner, without a major victory since the 2008 US Open, holed from 10 feet at the 412-yard 12th, but did well to bogey the next.

He drove into sand – there is no such thing as a bunker on the Ocean Course - hit his second into the crowd, chipped into more sand, but from there came out to a foot to limit the damage.

Ian Poulter was one under after seven, matching McIlroy’s four on the 581-yard 16th, while Martin Laird was level after 11 and so was last year’s Open champion Darren Clarke – a good comeback after he had run up a seven on the 593-yard 11th.

Lee Westwood and Brian Davis also stood level par, Robert rock one over and Paul Casey two over.