McIlroy Agonises In Letting Slip ‘Double’ Share Of Tour Championship/FedEx Cup Lead

5 years ago by Comments Off on McIlroy Agonises In Letting Slip ‘Double’ Share Of Tour Championship/FedEx Cup Lead

Rory McIlroy agonised in letting slip a ‘double’ share of the lead in posting a four-under par 66 for the bigger picture of being nine-under on the opening day of the Tour Championship in Atlanta.

McIlroy grabbed five birdies, and should have seized three to four others including not even hitting the hole at the last for par, in very hot conditions at the PGA Tour season-closing event on the East Lake course.

It left the current World No. 3 trailing two shots behind fellow former Tour Championship winner, Xander Schauffele who signed for a seven-under par 64.

That’s the simple ‘Act One’ picture of the first-round Tour Championship and its $1.7m first prize pay-out picture

The slightly more-complicated second half sees McIlroy and his 29 rivals bizarrely having to manage a second assignment involving ‘starting strokes’ as someone strives to walk off with the $15m FedEx Cup windfall.

And thanks to pre-tournament FedEx front-runner Justin Thomas, who began the round at 10-under par, as he has done everyone a huge favour in shooting a level par 70.

Thomas teed-up leading the field by two shots but struggled to be one-over par through 15 holes and this after taking a double-bogey at that hole  and walking off in the direction of 16 by disgustingly hurling his putter in the direction of his golf bag.

The former PGA champion managed to get back to level par for his round in holing a birdie at the last to be now tied in the FedEx Cup race with Schauffale and World No. 1 Brooks Koepka (67).

McIlroy is lying fourth in ‘Act Two’ having started the round at five-under par and when adding his four-under 66, he’s now nine-under.

His front-nine was hardly inspiring with a birdie at four, bogey on five and a birdie on the sixth hole.

McIlroy’s inward half was a better display with birdies on 13 than at 15 where he holed a seven-footer and sixth birdie of his day on 17 and then at the uphill par-5 last, McIlroy took two putts from just six-feet for par.

“I was very pleased to birdie three of my last six holes even though I missed that one at the last,” he said.

“It is so tough to shoot a good score around here if you don’t hit it in the fairway anda I hit it in the fairway a bit more than I did last week in Medinah.

“Then you can shoot at some pins and give yourself opportunities, so to play the back-nine in three under and get in with a decent start is very nice.”



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