Rory McIlroy is confident he will go for a successful title defense at The Players despite feeling ‘rusty’ during a poor opening round at TPC Sawgrass.
McIlroy said he would make a “game time decision” on whether to tee it up at the PGA Tour’s flagship event after struggling with a back injury after withdrawing mid-tournament from last Saturday’s Arnold Palmer Invitational.
World No. 2 McIlroy received daily treatment before arriving at the tournament on Wednesday afternoon, having played no practice rounds before competing in the opening round.
Rory McIlroy has had a slow start to his title defense on The Players.
McIlroy also didn’t hit a club longer than a 6-iron until his warm-up on Thursday following an early exit from Bay Hill over the weekend. In Thursday’s warmup, he mixed a birdie and three bogeys for a 2-over 74 and was seven strokes off the lead.
“It’s not that I had a lot of time off, but I felt incredibly rusty,” McIlroy told reporters. “I’m glad I made it through the round.
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Rory McIlroy paid the price for missing the fairway with back-to-back bogeys in his first round at TPC Sawgrass.
“I was trying to get back to even par on the back nine that day, but I couldn’t get there. Tomorrow I’ll start with a few birdie opportunities on the back, so I’ll try to get back to even par.
“Honestly, I don’t think I’m that far out. No one went really low this afternoon. I just expected that to happen because the conditions were pretty good. I feel like if I can get out there tomorrow and get some good pictures, I feel like I’ll be right there for the weekend.”
McIlroy’s title defense gets off to a slow start
McIlroy, playing with Xander Schauffele and Hideki Matsuyama, started with three straight pars and followed a wayward iron off the tee before making bogey on the next hole, a drop shot on the par-4 fourth.
The Masters champion responded with a stunning approach from the fairway bunker to the par-4 fifth, scoring a close-range birdie, and then couldn’t divert attention on the next two holes.
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Rory McIlroy hit a stunning bunker shot from 160 yards for a birdie on the par-4 sixth hole in the first round of The Players.
A flurry of chips on the par-5 ninth forced him to settle for par, closing the 37th hole on the front nine, and McIlroy limited bogey damage on the par-5 11th after finding a tree off the tee and pitching the ball into thick rough.
McIlroy overcame a fickle tee shot to save par on the 12th, got up and down impressively to avoid bogey on the par-4 15th, and dragged his approach to the 16th after finding a difficult lie in a fairway bunker to scramble for par on the final par-4.
McIlroy will participate in this tournament without a practice round.
“I would say the most uncomfortable thing was when the ball was under my feet or there was some chipping, like the ball dropping down a little bit,” McIlroy added. “Honestly, overall it was okay.
“I was a little tired at the end of the day, but actually everything was fine. I had no preparation at all. I hit about 30 golf balls yesterday and chipped and puttted the last six holes last night.
McIlroy will participate in this tournament without a practice round.
“I felt like the golf course and greens I experienced last night were so different than what I played today. The rain made the greens a couple of feet slower and a lot softer, so there were some adjustments.
“When I wake up in the morning, I want to feel just as good, if not better, than I did today.”
McIlroy will be among the early starters on Friday morning, with Schauffele and Matsuyama teeing off at 8.52am local time (12.52pm UK time). Schauffele opened with a 3-under 69 as Matsuyama shot an opening-round 70.
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