Rory McIlroy had a less than perfect start to his 2023 PGA Championship.
The 2012 and 2014 PGA champion, who had opened with five pars, failed to up-and down on the par-3 15, his sixth hole for the day. He settled for a bogey. Two more squares were added to his card at Nos. He added two more squares to the card on Nos.
A poor pitch to the green at No. A substandard pitch from the front of No.
He was a good man until he wasn’t.
The four-time major champion sank a 37-foot putting from the collection area, and walked up to the third tee with an unlikely par.
Par save & a beauty @McIlroyRory | #PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/apV0yNmX1G
PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship May 18, 2020
McIlroy then hit a 347 yard drive on the fourth par-5 hole and made another birdie.
He would trade a bogey for a circle at No. He traded a bogey at No. The Northern Irishman ended his round at 8 with a 1-over score.
He said, “I didn’t even hit the ball very well.” “I thought I did well to shoot as I did.”
What was the start McIlroy wanted? No. The fight to return was notable. He found only two fairways out of fourteen, and was unable to get back into the tournament. McIlroy also lost 1.5 strokes on the greens.
McIlroy has an illness, so he will not be able to clean up the range on Thursday.
Rory claims to be battling an illness after a round of 71 that was “messy and erratic”. Whoop recovered 22% overnight, but felt better today.
— Ryan Lavner (@RyanLavnerGC) May 18, 2023
McIlroy, who has only one over par, is in the running with a few low scores in Rochester, New York.
