Rory McIlroy got off to a blazing start in Friday’s opening round of the Deutsche Bank Championship, going birdie-birdie out of the gate and adding another on the 13th hole (his fourth of the day). A bogey on No. 17 and a par on No. 18, however, had the world No. 1 hotter under the collar than with his sticks as he made the turn.
Rory McIlroy starts hot, then gets hot under the collar at Deutsche Bank Championship
Rory McIlroy looks as if he’s about to set a course record at TPC Boston but a few hiccups have left him frustrated at the Deutsche Bank Championship.
Jared Wickerham
Coming off of a T22 at The Barclays, last week’s first leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs, McIlroy was totally dialed in, his one-foot birdie putt on No. 10 an early indicator that he was on his way to his goal for the week -- recapturing the top spot in the FEC rankings.
Great #GolfTip from Rory today: Want to make more birdies? Just hit it to a foot on every hole: http://t.co/m6hofngsn0 #FedExCup
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 29, 2014 Rory's hit half his approach shots today to a foot. #ballstriking
— Sean Martin (@PGATOURSMartin) August 29, 2014
“I’m excited for the week -- the opportunity to try to get back to that No. 1 place in the FedEx Cup and move on to Denver with a little bit of a lead,” McIlroy, the winner of the British Open, WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, and PGA Championship, and atop the playoffs leader board entering The Barclays, said in a Wednesday press conference. “So we’ll see what happens.”
What happened was a sloppy approach shot to the par-4 17th that left him with an awkward lie at the back of a green-side bunker. McIlroy did well just to clear the trap but he was unhappy with the result and took a frustrated whack at the sand with his wedge.
Deutsche Bank Championship
McIlroy followed the bogey on 17 with an errant approach to the par-5 18th that resulted in his tossing his club, baton-style, in the air, and was not at all pleased to leave what will likely be the easiest hole on the course with a par.
The four-time major champion’s frustration was obvious when he began walking toward the hole after what he believed to be a missed 10-foot birdie putt on the short par-4 fourth, only to watch the ball drop and get back to 3-under. His shoulders were slumped, though, as he picked up his tee after losing his tee shot into a fairway bunker on the fifth; a chunked shot from the sand and ensuing bogeys on that hole and the next did nothing to improve his disposition.
McIlroy was not the only one in his threesome struggling in Friday’s opening round. Last week’s winner and FedEx Cup leader, Hunter Mahan, is 2-over through 15, while the playoff points leader for most of the season, Jimmy Walker, was at 3-under and one back of early leader Keegan Bradley.
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