Rory McIlroy knew what he needed to do on Thursday. It was the same thing every golfer in the field was trying to achieve: go low on the way out on the front nine and hold on for dear life coming home. McIlroy was mostly able to accomplish this in Thursday's first round that was playing about four strokes to par more difficult on the back side than the front.
McIlroy went out in 4-under 32 and came home in 2-over 37 for a 2-under 69 to kick off the 145th Open Championship. He caught lightning near the end of that front nine and made you remember the things Rory McIlroy can make you think about when he really gets going. Then he slipped a little on the flip side. Still, he said he was fine with his score.
"I think I would have taken anything in the 60s today," McIlroy told Steve Sands of Golf Channel after his round. "I knew you needed to make your score on the front nine. I actually felt like I hit some really good shots on the back. It was nice to get one shot back at least over the final few holes."
McIlroy was referencing the roller coaster he rode over the final six holes of the round when he made a double bogey, bogey and birdie consecutively. The double bogey was a bad one (as most are) as McIlroy yipped a putt from about three feet.
"[The course] played exactly how I thought it would," added McIlroy to Golf Channel. "You need to take advantage of the two par 5s on the front nine. I knew anything around even par on the back nine is a very good effort. When I turned at 4 under, I was thinking I could get a couple more, but I would have taken a 67 and even 69 isn't too bad."
Let's talk about that back nine. At the time McIlroy finished, 60 other golfers had finished as well. A little less than half the field. The scoring average on the front was 34.7. It was 37.7 on the back. None of the 60 had broken par on the par-4 11th hole. Patrick Reed called it "David vs. Goliath." Colin Montgomerie summed it up well.
The good news for McIlroy is that he did not remove himself from the tournament in Round 1 like he did at the U.S. Open. Even better, he was inside the top 20 at the time he finished. Another day like Thursday in Round 2 and the Ulsterman will be in business.
Plus, each of the last 12 major winners have shot under par in the first round (according to our friend Justin Ray). On a course that has seen 9 under as the average winning score, I don't see that changing this week.
So now McIlroy will chase the Americans. Patrick Reed, Billy Horschel, Justin Thomas and Steve Stricker are all at or near the top of the leaderboard, and McIlroy has some ground to make up. The bad news for McIlroy fans is that all four of his major wins have been as the front runner. He led after the first round during the 2011 U.S. Open and 2014 Open Championship. He was one back after the 2012 and 2014 PGA Championships.
He has not yet proven he can come from more than two back after the first round. Maybe this is the week, maybe not. Either way, you know the roller coaster will be a fun ride with McIlroy. It always is, and Thursday at Royal Troon was no different.
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