Whether Rory McIlroy can end his Major hoodoo on his return to Valhalla remains to be seen, but he finds himself four shots off the lead after a strong opening round of the US PGA Championship yesterday.
Xander Schauffele recorded only the fourth round of 62 in Major history — the second time he had done so in the past year and a first at this tournament — with a stunning, bogey-free nine-under-par round.
While the American barely put a foot wrong, McIlroy will be buoyed by the fact he carded a 66 when not at his best with the driver.
Instead, the Northern Irishman left himself in contention thanks to his chipping as he bids for a hat-trick of wins in America.
A winner in his last two tournaments, New Orleans and Quail Hollow, he talked of the stars aligning returning to Valhalla, the scene of his last Major win in 2014.
Starting at the 10th, the 35-year-old birdied the opening hole, sank another on 13, but found the water with his driver at the par-five 18th, from which he scrambled to make an impressive par. His round ignited from the first tee, where he nearly chipped in and made birdie, as he did on the fifth. His chip on 16 did drop.
“I rode my luck a bit,” said McIlroy. “I hope I can drive it like Rory in 2014 over the next few days, as I didn’t drive it very well today. My scrambling and iron play is coming together so, if I can do all that and hit fairways, I am feeling pretty good.”
Schauffele was a class apart, emulating the score he had managed at the opening round of last year’s US Open in Los Angeles. He said: “It’s a great start. I still have three more rounds to play. I just got into the rhythm.”
Tiger Woods, in only his third competitive round of the year, admitted he had ground his way to a one-over-par 72 after which he said his sole target was to make the cut.
“It took me probably three holes to get back into competitive flow again and get a feel for hitting the ball,” he said. “The whole idea is to get to the weekend so that I can participate and have a chance to win. You just have to grind it out.”
