Following a five-hour vary session Monday to kick off 2024 Gamers Championship week, Rory McIlroy believed he’d straightened out a few of what plagued him on the 4 PGA Tour occasions main into the event. If the early proof is any indication, he is appropriate.
McIlroy shot an opening-round 65 on Thursday — scoring a Gamers record-tying 10 birdies whereas doing so — to co-lead at TPC Sawgrass alongside Xander Schauffele because the duo entered the clubhouse within the early afternoon.
For some time, it appeared as if McIlroy might go even decrease. He was 6 underneath via eight holes on the again 9 earlier than hitting a ball within the water on the 18th. McIlroy was capable of salvage a bogey and went on one other birdie run throughout the entrance 9. Then got here the controversial seventh gap, Rory’s sixteenth of the day.
The No. 2 participant on the planet pulled one other drive (his one problem Thursday) into the water, which led to a prolonged change between taking part in companions Jordan Spieth and Viktor Hovland about the place the ball bounced, crossed and in the end ended up.
Regardless of some obvious disagreement, McIlroy dropped the place he initially presumed was the correct spot to drop and went on to make a double bogey. He stated he felt comfy along with his resolution and remained satisfied that he noticed the ball bounce above the crimson line.
“Jordan was simply attempting to ensure that I used to be doing the precise factor,” McIlroy stated after the spherical. “I used to be fairly certain that my ball had crossed the place I used to be form of dropping it. It is so arduous, proper, as a result of there was no TV proof. I used to be adamant. However, once more, he was simply attempting to ensure that I used to be going to do the precise factor. If something, I used to be being conservative with it.
“On the finish of the day, we’re all attempting to guard ourselves, shield the sphere, as effectively. I would not say [the conversation] was pointless. He was simply attempting to ensure that what occurred was the precise factor.”
When pressed concerning the drop he took on the 18th, McIlroy stated a lot of the identical.
“[It] was a fairly related scenario,” he stated. “Once more, adamant it crossed, it is only a matter of the place it crosses. This golf course, greater than another, it form of produces these conditions somewhat bit. Once more, like I really feel like I am one of the crucial conscientious golfers out right here, so if I really feel like I’ve completed one thing mistaken, it’s going to play on my conscience for the remainder of the event. I am an enormous believer in karma, and in case you do one thing mistaken, I really feel like it should come round and chunk you sooner or later.”
Following the change and the double bogey on the seventh, McIlroy closed out his spherical with a par on the eighth and one more birdie on the par-5 ninth, which meant he birdied all 4 par 5s on the golf course Thursday.
It was an “solely in golf” form of day.
McIlroy, within the midst of one of many nice driving stretches of his profession, misplaced strokes off the tee. He stated Wednesday that his really feel with woods (together with driver) is “superb” proper now, and the numbers again him up. He is No. 1 on the PGA Tour in strokes gained off the tee to date this season. So, after all he struggled with some swings however was first within the discipline on method play, a reality of the sport he is battled for a lot of the PGA Tour season, rating 152nd on Tour.
“I am unsure how the strokes gained method stats appear like, but it surely’s in all probability been considered one of my greatest days shortly, which is very nice,” he stated. “Yeah, the sensation is sweet with the irons, and the sensation with the motive force and the 3-wood is just a bit bit completely different. However so long as I remind myself on the tee field that, OK, this can be a wooden, and I get on the green, and that is an iron, and I’ve received two completely different feels and two completely different ideas, then it is OK.”
McIlroy stated a poor efficiency final Sunday at Bay Hill — the place he shot 76 after taking part in his means into competition on the Arnold Palmer Invitational — might have inadvertently led to some success, not less than to date this week.
“Simply I wanted to scrub up the approach somewhat bit, wanted to scrub up some issues,” he stated. “Truthfully, simply wanted to place the time in. I’ve wished to play quite a bit to start out this 12 months, and I’ve, however if you play quite a bit, you do not perhaps get the time to observe all that a lot.
“On the identical time, say I had a good day on Sunday at Bay Hill and shot 70, for certain I’d have taken Monday off right here. However due to not taking pictures a good rating, I grinded on the vary and figured one thing out and put the time in, and it is form of already benefiting, in order that’s good.”
In 2019, in McIlroy’s lone win on the Gamers Championship, he opened with 67 and trailed the leaders by two. His 10 birdies tied the report, beforehand set by Taylor Moore (2023), Tom Hoge (2023), Patton Kizzire (2022), Cameron Smith (2022), Colt Knost (2016) and Justin Thomas (2015).