Friday 16 February 2018 10:24, UK
Rory McIlroy bounced back from a frustrating first nine holes to post a battling level-par 71 on a difficult opening day of the Genesis Open.
Armed with a new putter after his struggles on the greens contributed to a missed cut at last week's AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, McIlroy bogeyed the two par-fives on the back nine before a superb eagle at the first - his 10th - got him back on track at Riviera.
Playing with Tiger Woods for the first time since the final round of the Masters in 2015, McIlroy made an unexpected birdie at his opening hole when he holed a sublime bunker escape at the 10th after his pitch from the rough bounded past the pin and over the back of the green.
But a pulled wedge from the middle of the fairway at the long 11th cost him a bogey, and he dropped another shot at the next following a wayward drive which left him unable to control his second as he tried to fade his ball around the trees from the thick rough.
McIlroy missed a great chance to restore parity when he missed from seven feet at the 13th and he came within a whisker of pitching in for a two at the next before another birdie chance from inside 10 feet went begging at 16.
He again missed the green with wedge in hand at the 17th and duffed his first chip, leading to another six on his card, but he made amends at the first when he knocked a 200-yard second from the rough to just inside 30 feet and rolled in the tricky, left-to-right putt for a morale-boosting eagle.
McIlroy missed further good chances for birdies at the sixth and eighth holes as he settled for eight straight pars which kept him within four strokes of the lead, and he was satisfied with his overall performance.
"I bogeyed the two par fives on the back nine, which usually is my bread and butter," McIlroy said. "But then I made a nice eagle at the first and played much better on our second nine and I'm in a decent position."
The 28-year-old also felt more comfortable on the greens, adding: "It's more of a mental test, because all you can do is start the putt on your intended line, try to hit it with good speed and it is really not up to you after that, it's sort of up to gravity.
"It is very mental, and I didn't pass that mental test last week at Pebble Beach, so I'm trying to stay more patient this week."
