Colin Montgomerie on Wednesday issued a warning that Rory McIlroy had to get off to a fast, sub-par start in his first six holes of the tournament if he hoped to avoid his third straight worldwide missed cut and the fourth in his last five starts. The 28-year-old Ulsterman may not have received the memo, as he scuffled to a 5-over score on his first six holes at the Open Championship before settling in to finish the day at 1-over 71.
British Open 2017 leaderboard: Rory McIlroy battles back from poor start
Rory bogeyed five of his first six holes but recorded four birdies on the back nine to stay in contention.
McIlroy birdied the 11th hole, after making par on four straight, but finished especially strong with birdies on the 15th, 17th and 18th holes. He went into the clubhouse T55.
McIlroy entered the Open on a sour note after early exits from the U.S. Open in June and the Irish and Scottish Opens earlier this month. He has three top-10 finishes in seven PGA Tour starts this year, but injuries and rust have taken their toll on the golfer once touted by many as the “next Tiger Woods.”
Things did not start well for McIlroy, who needed to drain a lengthy putt on the first hole just to save bogey. He hit 43 percent of his fairways for the round and 61 percent of his greens in regulation.
After a par on No. 2, McIlroy ran off four straight bogeys and three pars to make the turn in 39 — five shots back of early front-runners Jordan Spieth and Brooks Koepka.
Koepka, Jordan Spieth and Matt Kuchar currently share the lead at 5-under 65.
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