Rory McIlroy's aspirations for a fifth major championship were shattered at Royal Troon, where he posted a seven-over-par 78 in the first round of The Open on Thursday, reminiscent of his struggles in 2019.
Meanwhile, American golfer Justin Thomas managed to secure the clubhouse lead with a three-under-par 68, despite a mid-round lapse, in the windy conditions at Royal Troon. The two-time PGA champion surged to four under after 10 holes but encountered difficulties and concluded his round with a strong finish, sinking a lengthy birdie on the final hole to set the benchmark.
Sweden's Alex Noren, England's Justin Rose, Denmark's Nicolai Hojgaard, and American Russell Henley all finished at two under par, navigating challenging conditions. In contrast, McIlroy, aiming to break a decade-long major title drought, started with a bogey and, although he recovered initially, his round deteriorated along the Ayrshire coast.
McIlroy's troubles escalated at the par-three eighth hole, known as the Postage Stamp, where his tee shot landed in the sand, and his subsequent recovery shot rolled back into the bunker. He recorded a double-bogey five and suffered another double-bogey at the 11th hole after his shot went out of bounds near the railway tracks adjacent to the course. The 35-year-old golfer further dropped shots on the 15th and 18th holes, facing a daunting task to make the cut, similar to his situation at Royal Portrush five years ago after an eight-over-par opening round.
Reflecting on his performance, McIlroy acknowledged, "Yeah, a difficult day. I felt like I did okay for the first part of the round and then missed the green at the Postage Stamp there and left it in and made a double." He continued, "But still, felt like I was in reasonable enough shape being a couple over through nine, thinking that I could maybe get those couple shots back, try to shoot even par." However, his round took a turn for the worse with an out-of-bounds shot on the 11th hole, resulting in another double-bogey. Despite the wind aiding his shots on the back nine, he found the conditions challenging.
McIlroy had appeared poised to claim his fifth major title when he led the US Open last month, but three bogeys in his final four holes, including two missed putts within four feet, led to a one-stroke defeat to American Bryson DeChambeau. Despite receiving supportive cheers on Thursday, he faced another frustrating day as the conditions proved to be his undoing.
McIlroy remarked, "The course was playing tough. The conditions are very difficult in a wind that we haven't seen so far this week. You play your practice rounds, you have a strategy that you think is going to help you get around the golf course, but then when you get a wind you haven't played in." He concluded, "Yeah, just one of those days where I just didn't adapt well enough to the conditions."
At Portrush, McIlroy nearly redeemed himself with a second-round 65, narrowly missing the cut. He is expected to require a similar performance on Friday.
"All I need to focus on is tomorrow and try to make the cut. That's all I can focus on," McIlroy, who won the 2014 Open at Hoylake, stated. "The conditions look like they're going to be pretty similar again tomorrow. I need to go out there and try to shoot something under-par and at least be here for the weekend."
