'A lot of golf left to play' says Rory McIlroy after battle with Masters ...
Fighting with the wind and his own inability to take advantage of Augusta’s scoreable par-5, Rory McIlroy settled for a 1-under par 71 in Thursday’s first round of the Masters, leaving him six shots behind leader Bryson DeChambeau and five behind playing partner Scottie Scheffler.
“I held it together well. It was a little scrappy,” McIlroy said. “The conditions are tricky. … It's hard to commit to where the wind direction is at times.
“But overall still not a bad score, and obviously a lot of golf left to play.”
McIlroy did not get off to the start he wanted, missing a good birdie chance on the first after bombing a 354-yard drive to within 87 yards then making a complete mess of the par-5 second for bogey after blocking his drive into the trees nearly to the fourth tee. After a great recovery, he hit his wedge long from 100 yards and missed a 6-footer for par.
He got the lost stroke back with a birdie after driving 340 yards to the apron of the par-4 third, but he gave it right back with a bogey from the bunker on the par-3 fourth with the tees moved up 80 yards.
Birdies at the par-5 eighth, par-3 12th and par-4 14th got McIlroy 2-under, but he failed to capitalize on birdie chances at 15 and 16 and then bogeyed 17. He made a clutch up-and-down from behind 18 to save par.
“But yeah, I think after the slow start sort of making a few birdies around the turn was good,” McIlroy said. “A little wasteful coming in. I had a good chance for birdie on 15 in the middle of the fairway and didn't take that. Missed a shortish one on 16 and then the bogey on 17. Probably turned a 3-under into a 1-under there at the end.
“Didn't birdie two of the par-5s on the back, which was a little disappointing. But getting in in red numbers was decent.” McIlroy focused on taking his mistakes in stride.
“There's a long way to go, and not to panic,” he said. “Everyone is going to make bogeys this week, and it's just a matter of when you do, resetting and sticking to your game plan.”
Playing with world No. 1 Scheffler, McIlroy watched the 2022 Masters champion steadily construct a bogey-free 66 with birdies at 2, 6, 12, 13, 15 and 16.
“I think when they're playing with you it's hard not to notice,” McIlroy said. “Scottie does such a good job … it doesn't look like it's 6-under par, and then at the end of the day it's 6-under par. He's just so efficient with everything.
“If you look at Scottie compared to the rest of the field, the amount of bogey-free rounds he plays and he shoots is phenomenal, and that's the secret to winning major championships and winning big-time golf tournaments is more limiting the mistakes rather than making a ton of birdies.
“I made three bogeys today, which is fine out there in these conditions, but just need to tidy it up a little bit to try to keep up with him.” McIlroy said having the measuring stick playing in his group didn’t apply any extra pressure and is actually beneficial.
“In that way, it's a good thing,” he said. “When I saw the draw, playing with Xander (Schauffele) and Scottie, two of the best players in the world, it was a nice draw, and looking forward to being out there with them again tomorrow.”
McIlroy admitted he would prefer calm, dry and faster than the blustery test present Thursday on a course slightly softened by some overnight rain. He might get his wish as the weekend progresses without further weather disruption.
“I'd like to think that I can shoot a better score than I did today,” he said of his target when they start the second round late on Friday.
