Rory McIlroy’s internal struggle was starkly evident in his body language during the initial round of the 152nd Open; his facial expressions marked by grimaces and rolling eyes, frequently removing his cap to run his fingers through his greying hair. Recovering from his ordeal looks set to be longer than one could predict following a seven-over-par 78 in the opening rounds.
His troubles from the US Open a month prior seemed to haunt him, spreading their gloom from the sandhills of North Carolina to the dunes of Firth Clyde. Regardless of where he was, there was no chance to escape. Errant shots, one of which went out-of-bounds over the stone wall onto the train track at the 11th hole, laid bare his grim day on the links, visible for all to observe.
The Old Course at Royal Troon cornered McIlroy with two notable, brutal holes, causing double bogeys that destroyed the scorecard and complicated the challenge of recovering enough simply to make the cut.
Initially, McIlroy seemed in control over the first few holes. As he stood at the tee box at the eighth hole, famously called the Postage Stamp due to a small-sized green surrounded by coffin bunkers, the Northern Irish golfer was even-par and seemingly comfortable.
However, that didn’t last. His tee shot landed one of the greenside bunkers, and his initial recovery shot rolled back down the slope to its initial position in the sand. The following one was over-shot by 20 feet beyond the flag. A couple of putts onwards, McIlroy had begun to lose his footing with a double-bogey five.
A subpar performance on the ninth hole, followed by a double bogey on the 11th after a misdirected drive that led to an out-of-bounds, saw McIlroy losing five shots across three holes. This run of poor play only ended at the 18th hole where he took a moment to regather his thoughts. McIlroy pointed out how he had misjudged both his club selection and shot choices in response to a wind change, compared to the practice days.
During his practice rounds, he had a certain strategy, but the unexpected wind required him to rethink his decision. He confessed, “There were times when I considered using clubs that I hadn’t practised with, I just failed to adapt well enough to the changing conditions.”
When questioned about his next steps and his potential to make a comeback into the championship, his facial cues conveyed a story. He asserted, “I can only concentrate on tomorrow and aim to make the cut”
On the other hand, Tom McKibbin, a teammate from the Holywood Golf Club, who was participating in his first Open and the second Major of his career post his debut at the preceding month’s US Open at Pinehurst, finished with a score of 73, two-over-par.