Rory McIlroy sounded a bit confused about his golf swing on Wednesday at The Players Championship. On Thursday, his first round began with a disaster that set the tone for an opening 79 for the defending champion.
McIlroy, who has fallen out of the top 10 in the Official World Golf Rankings, hit a big hook off the 10th hole to start his day. He pitched out and his second settled in a fairway bunker. His third left him 116 yards to the hole. His fourth checked up 19 feet from the cup and he two-putted from there for an opening double-bogey six.
Rory was three-over after a three-putt bogey from 24 feet at the par three 14th then things really went haywire at the difficult par four 18th.
It was deja-vu off over again, as he replayed his performance on the par five sixth hole at Bay Hill last Sunday. Yes, Rory hit two drives into the water at the 18th. By the time he hit the green, he was lying five, nearly 70 feet from the hole and, of course, McIlroy three-putted for a quadruple-bogey eight and a big, fat 43 on his scorecard for his first nine holes.
To Rory’s credit, he tried to battle back with birdies at the first and second as he made the turn. But he gave both back with two straight bogeys at three and four. At the par four fifth, he holed a nice birdie putt to get back in red numbers on the front nine but at the par five ninth, it took him four shots to finish the hole from the left greenside bunker. He shot even par for his final nine but the damage from the back nine was done.
Rory signed for a 79 and odds are he won’t make it to the weekend.
But Rory was only one of the many names on the “Dishonor Roll” at the end of the day.
Tony Finau shot 78 as did Alex Noren and C.T. Pan. Top 10 players Xander Schauffele and Tyrrell Hatton finished with 76s
Henrik Stenson signed for 85. Ben An and Kyle Stanley and Jimmy Walker carded 83s. Hudson Swafford shot 82. Kevin Na shot 81 and withdrew. Jim Herman, Matthew NeSmith and Sam Burns shot 81s and didn’t withdraw. Maverick McNealy was looking at 81 but he was ready to tee off on the 18th when the horn sounded, suspending play as daylight faded. He need par at 18 for 81.
But wait, there’s more.
Richy Werenski, Brian Gay, Henrik Norland and Tyler Duncan all carded snowmen (80s).
That brought the total to 14 players who shot 80 or worse.
Tough day?
You bet and when the greens firm up over the next three rounds, it’s going to get tougher.
Good Start For Jordan Spieth:
The Players hasn’t exactly been all that kind to Jordan Spieth. But as Spieth makes his way back from the oblivion of two years of less-than-stellar play, he looked pretty solid on Thursday at the Stadium Course with an opening round of 70.
Spieth is now taking a different approach to his game plan and strategy.
“You have to play this course almost like a U.S. Open venue,” he said. “If you don’t get a perfect number with the right wind, you just can’t attack, even if it’s a wedge. Just wait for your spots and take advantage of the par 5s. That’s how I’m supposed to play this place. And I did a great job of that today for the most part, and that’s going to be my game plan going forward, for sure.”
Spieth had a nice day with the driver and other tee shots, leading the field in Strokes Gained Off The Tee. He hit 12 of the 14 fairways and was never wild.
“From the spots I was playing and the shots I hit into greens mid-air, I would have said I should have shot lower, but at the beginning of the day, I would have certainly signed for a 70,” he said. “I feel really good about today overall.”
Last Minute Call To Steve Stricker:
Steve Stricker was down at his winter home in Naples when he got the call early Thursday morning that Justin Rose was withdrawing. Rose walked off the course at the Arnold Palmer Invitational after only three holes last Saturday and left Jordan Spieth to play the bulk of the third round at Bay Hill by himself.
One would think Rose had a better idea of his physical state than to wait until the morning of the first round. Fortunately, he had an afternoon time and Stricker got a private plane ride to Jacksonville and was able to make it to the course. With no practice and no preparation, Stricker went out and shot a first round 70 and the U.S. Ryder Cup captain was tied for 12th. Great start for the 54-year-old.
Stricker had an inkling as to what was happening on Wednesday. He was second alternate and Harris English had withdrawn. “I found a local guy down in Naples that I could use his plane, kind of spur of the moment kind of deal,” Stricker recounted. “I get a call at 6:45 (am), just kind of woken up and they (the Tour) said that you are now the first alternate. And I’m like, well, I’m coming. I actually got in the air about 8:30, quarter to nine. Got here at, I think about 9:35. I landed. Straight to testing center and tested and actually got out here a couple hours ahead of time before the tee time and just went to the back of the range. Waited for my test to come back negative and hit some balls.”
Eric Larson was his fill-in caddie. He and Stricks teamed well as Stricker birdied five of his first eight holes. For the record, Stricker has appeared in The Players 21 times so he’s darn familiar with the course.
The other Champions Tour regular in the field was Jerry Kelly, winner of the Senior Players. Kelly opened with a respectable 73.
Rickie Fowler Still Lost:
Rickie Fowler’s poor play continued. The 2015 winner went for hockey sticks on Thursday — a five-over par 77.
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