Rory McIlroy proved he was indeed human, with a rough two-hole stretch during the first round of the PGA Championship. His response proved he was worthy of that newly acquired No. 1 ranking. McIlroy shredded the final seven holes of the back nine and came in with a 5-under round of 66.
PGA Championship 2014 leaderboard: Rory McIlroy dialed in at Valhalla
Outside of a two-hole problem stretch, Rory McIlroy was in top form once again and finished the first round in the thick of contention.
At 5-under, McIlroy is one shot off the lead. He could easily be the clubhouse leader had he not run into some trouble after making the turn. McIlroy played a clean front nine and made the turn at 3-under, but that’s when things temporarily fell apart. The par-5 10th hole is playing as one of the easier holes on the course and a definite birdie opportunity. McIlroy appeared to be in prime position to go for the green in two following an excellent tee shot. He squandered that opportunity when he hooked his second shot well out of bounds.
Forced to hit another from the same spot, McIlroy’s next attempt wasn’t much better. He ended up in a similar area, but in bounds. He wasn’t able to get the ball close on his next shot and a missed putt led to a double bogey. The problems continued on his next hole with a bogey at No. 11, and all of a sudden McIlroy was even par.
Last year, the issues may have continued and spiraled into an over-par round. McIlroy had no such issues on Thursday, instead righting the ship quickly and responding with a drilled approach to a few feet on No. 12. He made the birdie putt to move back into the red. It proved to be one of four straight birdies for McIlroy, who quickly climbed back up the leaderboard. It’s much easier to rebound from a bad shot or two when you’re putting like this.
McIlroy capped his round with a tap-in birdie on No. 18 to finish off his 5-under round. McIlroy is currently one shot off the lead. He might have easily had a comfortable lead if not for his second shot at No. 10. That could have potentially been a three-shot swing if he was able to come away with birdie. Regardless, McIlroy’s first round was a very good start in his quest for a third straight victory.
Here is a full look at the current state of the leaderboard and where McIlroy stands:
Place | Player | Score | Thru |
T1 | Lee Westwood | -6 | F |
T1 | Kevin Chappell | -6 | F |
T1 | Ryan Palmer | -6 | F |
T4 | Jim Furyk | -5 | F |
T4 | Edoardo Molinari | -5 | F |
T4 | Henrik Stenson | -5 | F |
T4 | Rory McIlroy | -5 | F |
T8 | Mikko Ilonen | -4 | F |
T8 | Matt Jones | -4 | 16 |
T8 | Jerry Kelly | -4 | 15 |
T8 | Chris Wood | -4 | 14 |
T12 | Joost Luiten | -3 | F |
T12 | Ian Poulter | -3 | F |
T12 | Bernd Wiesberger | -3 | F |
T12 | Shane Lowry | -3 | F |
T12 | Danny Willett | -3 | F |
T12 | Shawn Stefani | -3 | F |
T12 | Geoff Ogilvy | -3 | 14 |
T19 | Rickie Fowler | -2 | F |
T19 | Victor Dubuisson | -2 | F |
T19 | Nick Watney | -2 | F |
T19 | Jimmy Walker | -2 | F |
T19 | Jason Day | -2 | F |
T19 | Phil Mickelson | -2 | F |
T19 | Jamie Donaldson | -2 | F |
T19 | Rafael Cabrera-Bello | -2 | F |
T19 | Kevin Streelman | -2 | F |
T19 | Russell Henley | -2 | F |
T19 | Alexander Levy | -2 | F |
T19 | Graham DeLaet | -2 | F |
T19 | Steve Stricker | -2 | F |
T19 | Cameron Tringale | -2 | F |
T19 | Seung-Yul Noh | -2 | 16 |
T19 | Luke Donald | -2 | 16 |
T19 | J.B. Holmes | -2 | 16 |
T36 | Patrick Reed | -1 | F |
T36 | Colin Montgomerie | -1 | F |
T36 | Brendon Todd | -1 | F |
T36 | Ernie Els | -1 | F |
T36 | Brendon de Jonge | -1 | F |
T36 | Louis Oosthuizen | -1 | F |
T36 | Justin Rose | -1 | F |
T36 | Stephen Gallacher | -1 | F |
T36 | Charley Hoffman | -1 | F |
T36 | Sergio Garcia | -1 | F |
T36 | Bubba Watson | -1 | F |
T36 | Martin Kaymer | -1 | F |
T36 | Hunter Mahan | -1 | 17 |
T36 | Zach Johnson | -1 | 16 |
T36 | Tim Clark | -1 | 15 |
T36 | Daniel Summerhays | -1 | 14 |
T36 | Jason Bohn | -1 | 13 |
T53 | Robert Karlsson | E | F |
T53 | Hideki Matsuyama | E | F |
T53 | Billy Horschel | E | F |
T53 | Brian Stuard | E | F |
T53 | Jordan Spieth | E | F |
T53 | Adam Scott | E | F |
T53 | Thongchai Jaidee | E | F |
T53 | Brian Harman | E | F |
T53 | Brooks Koepka | E | F |
T53 | Kevin Stadler | E | F |
T53 | Marc Leishman | E | F |
T53 | Marc Warren | E | F |
T53 | Brendan Steele | E | F |
T53 | Pat Perez | E | F |
T53 | Scott Brown | E | F |
T53 | Scott Stallings | E | F |
T53 | Jonas Blixt | E | F |
T53 | Erik Compton | E | F |
T53 | Fabrizio Zanotti | E | F |
T53 | Gonzalo Fdez-Castano | E | F |
T53 | Bill Haas | E | F |
T53 | Vijay Singh | E | F |
T53 | Thorbjorn Olesen | E | 17 |
T53 | Francesco Molinari | E | 16 |
T53 | Richard Sterne | E | 16 |
T53 | Chris Stroud | E | 13 |
T79 | Shaun Micheel | 1 | F |
T79 | Freddie Jacobson | 1 | F |
T79 | K.J. Choi | 1 | F |
T79 | Miguel Angel Jimenez | 1 | F |
T79 | Charl Schwartzel | 1 | F |
T79 | Stewart Cink | 1 | F |
T79 | Ryo Ishikawa | 1 | F |
T79 | Gary Woodland | 1 | F |
T79 | Anirban Lahiri | 1 | F |
T79 | Tom Watson | 1 | F |
T79 | Davis Love III | 1 | F |
T79 | Kenny Perry | 1 | F |
T79 | Kiradech Aphibarnrat | 1 | F |
T79 | Chris Kirk | 1 | 17 |
T79 | Paul Casey | 1 | 15 |
T94 | Roberto Castro | 2 | F |
T94 | Charles Howell III | 2 | F |
T94 | George Coetzee | 2 | F |
T94 | Matt Every | 2 | F |
T94 | Ross Fisher | 2 | F |
T94 | Padraig Harrington | 2 | F |
T94 | Graeme McDowell | 2 | F |
T94 | Brandt Snedeker | 2 | F |
T94 | Hyung-Sung Kim | 2 | F |
T94 | Ryan Helminen (CP) | 2 | F |
T94 | George McNeill | 2 | F |
T94 | Webb Simpson | 2 | F |
T94 | Ryan Moore | 2 | F |
T94 | Scott Piercy | 2 | F |
T94 | Branden Grace | 2 | 17 |
T94 | Keegan Bradley | 2 | 17 |
T94 | Steve Schneiter (CP) | 2 | 15 |
T94 | Chesson Hadley | 2 | 15 |
T94 | Kevin Na | 2 | 15 |
T94 | Ben Crane | 2 | 14 |
T114 | Koumei Oda | 3 | F |
T114 | Jamie Broce (CP) | 3 | F |
T114 | Rich Beem | 3 | F |
T114 | Tiger Woods | 3 | F |
T114 | Harris English | 3 | F |
T114 | Eric Williamson (CP) | 3 | F |
T114 | David Hearn | 3 | F |
T114 | Y.E. Yang | 3 | 17 |
T114 | Tommy Fleetwood | 3 | 15 |
T114 | Hideto Tanihara | 3 | 15 |
T114 | Rod Perry (CP) | 3 | 14 |
T125 | Russell Knox | 4 | F |
T125 | Thomas Bjorn | 4 | F |
T125 | Bob Sowards (CP) | 4 | F |
T125 | Rory Sabbatini | 4 | F |
T125 | Stuart Deane (CP) | 4 | F |
T125 | John Senden | 4 | F |
T125 | Ben Martin | 4 | 15 |
T132 | John Daly | 5 | F |
T132 | Rob Corcoran (CP) | 5 | F |
T132 | Steven Bowditch | 5 | 14 |
T135 | Michael Block (CP) | 6 | F |
T135 | David McNabb (CP) | 6 | F |
T135 | Will MacKenzie | 6 | 15 |
T135 | David Hronek (CP) | 6 | 13 |
T139 | Brian Norman (CP) | 7 | F |
T139 | Mark Brooks | 7 | F |
T139 | John Huh | 7 | F |
T139 | Jason Kokrak | 7 | F |
T139 | Johan Kok (CP) | 7 | 15 |
T139 | Jim McGovern (CP) | 7 | 14 |
T145 | Pablo Larrazabal | 8 | F |
T145 | Matt Pesta (CP) | 8 | F |
T145 | Dave Tentis (CP) | 8 | F |
T145 | Darren Clarke | 8 | 16 |
T149 | Boo Weekley | 9 | F |
T149 | Jerry Smith (CP) | 9 | F |
T149 | Matteo Manassero | 9 | F |
152 | Dustin Volk (CP) | 10 | F |
153 | Angel Cabrera | 11 | F |
154 | Frank Esposito (CP) | 12 | F |
155 | Aaron Krueger (CP) | 13 | F |
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