Friday 14 August 2015 11:36, UK
Rory McIlroy overcame a nervy start to open the defence of his PGA Championship title with an encouraging one-under 71 at Whistling Straits.
In his first competitive round since the US Open, the world No 1 hit back from a three-putt bogey at the first with a birdie at the next and missed good chances at three and four before producing a stunning par-save from shallow water at the fifth hole.
McIlroy pulled a seven-iron left of the green with his third to the par-five, but he rolled up his right trouser leg, splashed out to 12 feet and calmly knocked in the putt to stay at level par.
He couldn't avoid a bogey after missing the fairway at the eighth, but he responded with a pure approach to four feet to set up a birdie at nine and a huge drive and an eight-iron into the long 11th yielded a comfortable two-putt for birdie.
McIlroy failed to convert mid-range birdie putts on each of the next four greens, but he got one to drop after pitching to six feet at the 16th before he was berating himself for pushing his approach to the last into thick rough, from where he played a poor chip and two-putted for bogey.
But he reflected on a good day's work in tough, blustery conditions, and he had no concerns with his left ankle after completing his recovery from the ligament damage he suffered during a friendly game of football with his friends just before the Scottish Open early last month.
And he was delighted with his highlight of the day at the fifth, where his main worry was getting his feet wet.
Staying dry
"The only thing I was trying not to do was get my feet wet, because if the water gets through this shoe, then the tape [on his left ankle] gets wet and then that would be annoying or uncomfortable for the rest of the day," McIlroy said.
"It was a little bit deeper on the right side, so I just rolled my right trouser leg up and it was fine. I just had to remember to hit it hard. And I was very fortunate to escape with a par there.
"I think anything under par this afternoon was a decent score. I thought trying to shoot something under 70 was realistic. I sort of had a chance to do that after birdieing the 16th. I missed a good chance there on 17. Unfortunate
bogey on the last, I guess. Just hit a 3-iron and held it up a little bit too much into the wind and leaked it right."
McIlroy's 71 was matched by playing partner and rival for the world No 1 spot Jordan Spieth, the Masters and US Open champion looking to become only the third player after Ben Hogan and Tiger Woods to win three majors in a year.
Spieth followed 10 straight pars with a three-putt bogey on the 11th, but chipped in on the next and also birdied the 16th.
"We really battled back after 10 and 11, which were disappointing holes for me, to salvage an under par round and really stay in this tournament," the 22-year-old said. "If I didn't get that good break on 12, it could have been a different story the rest of the round."
Watch McIlroy and Spieth in our feature group coverage on Friday, starting at 2pm on the red button and on Sky Sports Xtra.
