Rory McIlroy recorded 17 consecutive pars in his return to the PGA Tour at the Truist Championship, finishing his first round with a 1-under-par 70.
The Northern Irishman, who has had a four-week break since successfully defending the Masters in April, has fond memories of playing at Quail Hollow, where he has previously won the event four times. In his first win in 2010, McIlroy had 23 birdies and two eagles over four rounds, but on Thursday he had to wait 17 holes to break through.
It looked like McIlroy would return to even par before making a birdie with a long putt on the 18th hole and recording a final first-round score of 70 strokes. If he had not recorded a birdie, it would have been the first time in his PGA Tour career that McIlroy recorded 18 consecutive pars.
He drove the ball beautifully all day, most notably a mammoth 335-yard drive through a clump of trees on the dogleg left par 4-second hole. But the 37-year-old’s putting let him down, with McIlroy missing several birdie opportunities, most notably a right-to-left putt on the 12th hole before sending another wide on the 13th.
“I wasn’t frustrated. I was putting well,” McIlroy said. “Some days they just don’t want to go in.
“I tried to be patient because I felt like I was making good putts. I read a couple too many times on the front side.
Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy acknowledges the gallery on the 18th hole during the first round of the Truist Championship.
“Then I underread a few as a reaction to reading too much. It was more of a read. I was starting the ball on my line and hitting good putts. I just had to get a little better at catching the reads. But by the end of the round, I felt like I was in it.”
After holing out on the 18th hole, McIlroy raised his arms in the air to celebrate finally sinking the putt.
“It was nice to see something building up at the end,” he added.
“I can’t remember the last time I played a round of golf and didn’t make a birdie. I guess I was just trying to make a birdie. I didn’t make a birdie at 7 or 8, so I thought my opportunity had passed, but it was nice to get that putt at the end.”
Matt McCarty of the United States took the lead with an opening round 8-under-par 64. Seongjae Lim trailed him in second place at 7 under par before the final round was shortened when tournament officials halted play due to bad weather.
The chasing team, which includes European players Kristoffer Reitan, Harry Hall, Nicolai Højgaard, Sepp Straka and Canadian player Nick Taylor, are all 5 under par and trailing the leaders.
Fleetwood is off to a good start.
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Justin Rose was visibly frustrated by poor iron shots in the opening round of the Truist Championship at Quail Hollow.
Tommy Fleetwood, who had struggled with his conditioning over the past month, got off to a good start with an eagle on the first hole, then finished the round with four birdies and a 67 at 4 under par.
It was an almost excellent 18 holes for the Briton, who sat T3 on the leaderboard, before missing a par putt on the 18th hole to end a bad day.
“Today was good. I got off to a perfect start. The eagle on the 10th was great. I felt like I played well, hit some solid iron shots. The course wasn’t easy, and the conditions were probably as soft as we could get. So if I play well, I’ll keep going.”
“I was talking to Phil (Kenyon) yesterday and you can do everything right on the putting green and you know what it’s like on the putting green and you say, ‘You read it right, I started on the line and I didn’t go in at the right speed.’ You can do it all, but at the end of the day, putting is about getting the ball in the hole and sometimes if you don’t see it going in, it feels very difficult.
England’s Tommy Fleetwood reacts after missing a putt on the 12th hole during the first round of the Truist Championship.
“I think today was one of those days where you don’t really need it but you want it. I had a little bit of momentum. Even that putt I hit on the last hole, even though my lip was sticking out, I felt like it was going to go in today and that gave me confidence.
“Who knows what will happen tomorrow? When a good day comes, we will have a good day.”
Fleetwood shares eighth place with fellow Briton Alex Fitzpatrick. He is making his second start after earning his PGA Tour card with his older brother, Matt, at the Zurich Classic in New Orleans.
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You can watch Rory McIlroy attempt to make back-to-back majors when the PGA Championship begins on Thursday 14 May, live only on Sky Sports.
Meanwhile, Justin Rose tied the score on the day with 4 birdies and 4 bogeys. The Briton is currently playing with a new set of McLaren clubs and endured a difficult run in the Cadillac Championship last week to finish tied for 65th.
Today, Rose attempted an approach shot on the par-4 first hole, but his shot was hooked and the ball fell toward the left edge of the green. Rose angrily dropped the club on the ground before gesturing towards it.
Who will win the Truist Championship? Watch live on Sky Sports all week long. Early coverage on Sky Sports+ begins at 4pm on Thursday, ahead of full coverage on Sky Sports Golf. Access or stream Sky Sports with no contract.
