Rory McIlroy fails to make a birdie in opening 74 at PGA Championship
By Keith Jackson
Last Updated: 29/07/16 9:35am
Rory McIlroy endured a horrendous day on the greens as he failed to make a single birdie in a disappointing opening four-over 74 at the PGA CHampionship.
McIlroy missed a series of excellent chances to counteract four bogeys, including three dropped shots in four holes early in his round, and he stumbled into the Baltusrol clubhouse trailing early leader Jimmy Walker by nine shots.
Playing partner Jason Day was also erratic with the putter, but the defending champion did get three putts to drop for birdie as he returned a solid 68, while Phil Mickelson, the third member of the marquee morning group, was four over after 11 holes before battling back to salvage a respectable 71.
But McIlroy faces a battle to make the cut and maintain his impressive PGA Championship record which boasts wins in 2012 and 2014 and top further top three finishes since his debut in the event in 2009.
He set the tone for his day when he failed to convert excellent approaches to 10 feet at the 10th and 11th, and he did well to save par from a greenside bunker at the 12th before he went long with a wedge at 13, duffed his chip and saw his par putt graze the edge.
McIlroy dropped another shot at the next after pulling his drive into the left rough and dumping his second into sand, and he found another trap with a poor tee-shot at the short 16th, where his escape went 30 feet beyond the pin and the long putt for par came up short.
The 27-year-old continued to struggle with the pace of the greens and missed further chances to claw shots back at 17, where his tentative prod from six feet veered left of the target, and 18, and he compounded the errors with a three-putt bogey on the second to drop to four over.
McIlroy's frustration increased when he lipped out for birdie from seven feet at the fourth, and he missed again from similar range at the seventh before parring in to complete only his second birdie-free day in a major in 88 rounds.
Tee to green is not the problem, but when I get to the greens it's a different story
Rory McIlroy
"Tee to green is not the problem, but when I get to the greens it's a different story," said McIlroy, who had 35 putts for the round. "I had a couple of chances early on that I could not convert and then missed a couple of greens and did not get up and down and I was always chasing it from there.
"I really struggled with the pace. They look much quicker than they are and two or three times I had putts within 12 feet that were downhill and left them short.
"I need to be more aggressive with my stroke, figure it out tomorrow and shoot something in the mid-60s and get into the weekend. That's the first objective. I will stay as patient as I can and try to turn it around."
Day's preparations had been disrupted for the fourth straight major due to illness, as well as a health scare involving his wife Ellie on Tuesday night, but he settled in with a birdie from 15 feet at the 11th before mis-reading further chances from inside 12 feet at 13 and 14.
The Australian did well to scramble pars at the 15th and 16th, but he missed a four-footer for birdie at 17 before he atoned at the first following a pure second to six feet.
His 10-footer for another gain at the fourth dropped in the side of the cup, but he then blotted his card with three putts from 60 feet at the next, and he passed up great chance to get the shot back at the sixth.
"I played good today," said he world No 1. "I drove it very nicely and hit a lot of good iron shots. I just didn't capitalise on the opportunities that I had out there but it's not disappointing, it is what it is.
"I guess I haven't had the greatest putting display over the last three weeks that I've played. I think that shows a little bit in the results, but for the most part, I feel pretty good about where my head is at and looking forward to the next three days."
Day closed with three solid pars to remain three off the pace, while Mickelson looked to be heading for a score in the same region as McIlroy after he opened with a bogey and dropped three shots in five holes around the turn.
But the 2005 PGA champion at Baltusrol started repairing the damage with a 15-footer for birdie at the second, and he found the benefits of finding the short grass from the tee at the sixth and seventh and holed from the same range to claw his way back to one over par.
"The first 11 holes were very disappointing," said Mickelson, who was runner-up to Henrik Stenson at The Open after an epic final-round duel. "I've been playing very well at the British and in my preparation, and to come out hit shots like I hit those first 11 holes was very disappointing.
"However, I'm proud that I hung in there, fought and got three back coming in. I'm in a position where I know I'm playing well, I think I can shoot in the mid-60s and get back in it and that's the goal."
