Rory McIlroy was left grateful for some excellent scrambling and a slice of good fortune as he put himself in a strong position after round one of the US PGA Championship.
The Northern Irishman arrived at Valhalla Golf Club among the favourites to claim a fifth Major Championship after a brilliant recent run of form.
He had won in his last two starts on the PGA TOUR to add to the Hero Dubai Desert Classic title he claimed in January and also looked to have fate on his side, having arrived at this golf course off the back of two wins ten years ago when he won his last Major.
But the World Number Two’s round was in danger of falling apart when he followed two early birdies with a bogey on the 17th and a tee-shot into the water on the 18th, a fate he famously avoided by a few feet in the final round a decade ago.
However, after taking a penalty drop and pitching out on to the fairway, McIlroy hit a superb approach to seven feet to save par and then hit the pin with his second shot on the next to set up a short-range birdie.
Six birdies in round one for @McIlroyRory as he sits T4 with an opening 66 (-5) 🙌#PGAChamp https://t.co/I0zh30Nmfs pic.twitter.com/cynwL8S9zr
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) May 16, 2024
“That was huge,” McIlroy admitted. “I could have easily bogeyed 18 and been back to even par, and then that ball on one could have hit the flagstick and went anywhere. I could have made bogey from that.
“Potentially being one over par through ten, I’m two under so it’s a three-shot difference. It’s a big swing.”
The 35-year-old made the most of that swing with a hat-trick of birdies from the fifth, including a chip-in on the sixth, to card a 66, the same score with which he opened when lifting the Wanamaker Trophy in 2014.
“I thought I got a lot out of my game today," he said. "Some good up-and-downs, the chip-in on six.
“I had a little bit of a scrappy part around the turn there. Not really happy with how I played but at least happy with the score.”
