A club snapping, a backwards putt, a miss from 3ft and a drive out of bounds at the last while en route to an opening round of 67. Welcome to the zany world of Rory McIlroy. Day one at Wentworth’s PGA Championship proved once again why it is unwise to ever take eyes off the Northern Irishman. Even by his standards, though, this represented box-office material.
“It was a bit of a rollercoaster but most of the incidents worked out in my favour so I am happy,” said McIlroy. Five under par meant he was entitled to this sentiment.
McIlroy was playing his second shot to the 12th when the head of his nine-iron went hurtling down the fairway after impact with the ball. Amazingly, the approach finished within 8ft of the hole. A bemused McIlroy retrieved the head from 25 yards ahead of him.
McIlroy admitted this was one golf scenario he had never encountered before. “Not during a shot,” he added. “I’ve certainly broken a few after golf shots. But no, I don’t remember a head falling off on me. The shaft was intact.
“It was just a bit of a weird one but I guess going from the extreme heat of the playoffs in America to back here, where it’s a little cooler and clubs are on planes everywhere so these things happen. Obviously it was a very weird feeling through impact. I looked up and the club head caught my eye instead of the golf ball.
“So I completely lost where the golf ball was, didn’t know where it went. I was just looking somewhere around the green and saw the ball fall just right of the pin and go up there and go pretty close. Fortunately, it didn’t impact the shot too much. I got it repaired and had it back on the 16th. Thankfully I didn’t need it for any of the holes in between.”
By this spectacular point, McIlroy already had to putt backwards due to an enforced, awkward stance on the edge of a lake at the 8th. One hole earlier, he had missed a tiny putt for par. The rest, save a drive on to a road at the 18th, was excellent. McIlroy birdied the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 9th during a front nine of 31. Further shot picked up at the 12th and 13th had McIlroy joint top of the leaderboard at minus sixth until a bogey on the final hole. It should also be noted he is competing in the DP World Tour’s flagship event while feeling the effects of a virus.
“Maybe it could have been a little bit better but a really solid start,” said McIlroy. “I would have taken five under at the start of the day.
“It’s a golf course where you’ve got a lot of holes you can birdie but then a stretch, especially today on the back nine where you had some tough ones in a row and trying to navigate those is important. So overall, probably a fair reflection of how I played. Hopefully I can go out tomorrow and shoot something similar, a little lower, and have a real chance going into the weekend.”
Shane Lowry and Robert MacIntyre were among those to match McIlroy’s score. “Rory is obviously playing great golf,” said Lowry. “It’s not a surprise to see him near the top of the leaderboard today. I think if you’re going to win the tournament this week, if you finish ahead of him, you’ve got a great chance.” MacIntyre thrilled huge crowds by hitting his driver from the fairway for his second shot to the 17th.
Danny Willett, a past champion here, admitted returning from shoulder surgery has proved “tougher than I thought”. Willett provided hope for the future courtesy of a 68. “When you’re trying, working, doing everything you think is right and shooting 75, it’s hard to take the positives from it,” said Willett.
“The last few weeks, I’ve been building up to be better as a general whole blueprint. Moves are coming back, speeds are coming back. You know what you’re doing. So you’re not as anxious about playing because you know if you make a certain move, it’s going to do something.”
Matthew Baldwin’s bogey-free 65, in the strongest of the afternoon breeze, meant he became the man to catch at seven under par. Niklas Norgaard is one adrift at minus six.
