Rory McIlroy struggles off tee, cards 74 at PGA Championship
NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. — After a gap spherical that lasted over 5 hours and ended with 4 straight bogeys, Rory McIlroy had a succinct approach of describing his efficiency Thursday at Aronimink Golf Club.
“S—,” McIlroy mentioned of his 4-over 74 after the primary spherical of the PGA Championship.
The five-time main winner and defending two-time Masters champion struggled off the tee Thursday, lacking 9 of 14 fairways — together with six of seven on his second 9 holes. The 4 straight bogeys he made to complete his spherical marked the primary time he has ever executed that in a serious championship.
“I’m just not driving the ball well enough. It’s been a problem all year for the most part,” McIlroy mentioned. “I miss it right, and then I want to try to correct it. And then I’ll overdo it, and I’ll miss it left. It’s a little bit of back-and-forth that way. So that’s pretty frustrating, especially when I pride myself on driving the ball well.”
McIlroy continues to be main everybody on the PGA Tour this season in strokes gained off the tee, however though he can nonetheless bomb it down the golf green additional than most, he is struggling to search out the quick grass. Through six occasions this 12 months, he ranks 91st in driving accuracy.
“I just need to try to figure it out. I honestly thought I’d figured it out,” mentioned McIlroy, who added that the pinky toe blister that he’s been dealing with since final week did not hassle him at all Thursday. “Coming in here, I hit it well on Sunday at Quail Hollow and then hit it good at home on Monday. … Once I get under the gun, it just seems like it starts to go a little bit wayward on me.”
Earlier within the week, McIlroy had alluded to the straightforward technique he thought Aronimink offered, saying he could hit driver on practically each gap as a result of there was not a lot regarded as executed off the tee.
After his opening spherical, nonetheless, McIlroy’s tune modified.
“[There] certainly it is a penalty for missing the fairway. Probably more than what I anticipated after being here, whatever it is, two Fridays ago,” McIlroy mentioned. “I wasn’t expecting it to be as windy today as it was. I think it’s the breezy conditions that are sort of making the scoring what it is. It’s hard to get the ball close. Some of the pins are tucked away.”