Rory McIlroy in battle to make Open cut after disastrous opening round at Royal Troon
The Holywood man shot a seven-over-par 78 in tough conditions at the Ayrshire venue as players struggled to finish their rounds under par
Rory McIlroy faces a massive challenge to make the cut at The Open after a disastrous opening round at Royal Troon on Thursday.
The Holywood man shot a seven-over-par 78 in tough conditions at the Ayrshire venue as players struggled to finish their rounds under par.
It leaves the 35-year-old facing a huge uphill battle to avoid a first missed cut in the Open since 2019 on home soil at Royal Portrush.
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McIlroy played the first poorly, coming up short of the green with his second and then leaving his chip 10 feet below the hole and missing his par putt, but he got back to level par with a pitch to three feet at the third. However, he could not pick up any more shots through the next three holes.
He successfully avoided Coffin Bunker on the Postage Stamp par three, but instead found a hazard right of the green and saw his first attempt to get out come back to his feet. The resulting double bogey dropped him back to two over par.
McIlroy also dropped a shot on the 10th before slicing his tee shot on the next out of bounds towards the adjacent railway line. The resulting double bogey dropped him to five over par.
Another bogey came on the 15th and he could only par the 16th after laying up short of the burn which runs across the fairway off the tee, but then pushing his second shot into the heavy rough.
He saved par from a greenside bunker on the 17th but found more sand off the tee on the last, a fourth bogey of the day completing a miserable 78.
“The course was playing tough,” McIlroy said. “Conditions were very difficult in a wind that we have not seen so far this week.
“When that happens it presents different options and I didn’t adapt well enough to the conditions.”
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