Carnoustie turned ‘Carnastie’ for tournament favourite Rory McIlroy in hitting ‘OB’ during his opening round of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland.
McIlroy was three-under par playing the famed ‘Hogan’s Alley’ par-5 sixth hole, and the 15th hole of his round, when his drive only narrowly cleared the ‘out-of-bounds’ fence positoned all the way down the left-side of the hole.
The famed ‘Hogan’s Alley’ – the 6th hole at Carnoustie.
The World No. 2 had to re-load in taking an eventual double-bogey ‘7’ on route to a two-under par 70.
If left McIlroy trailing seven shots adrift of South African Justin Walters who posted a sizzling bogey-free nine-under par 63 on the Old Course at St. Andrews.
McIlroy teed-up with a decent record at Carnoustie having won the ‘Low Amateur’ medal at the 2007 Open Championship and was joint runner-up at last year’s Open.
But then the hardest of this week’s three host venues holds no favours.
“I felt like I played okay and I could have made a few more birdies but to then take a ‘7’ on the 6th hole was not ideal,” he said.
“I hit my tee shot just a little bit left and the wind took it out-of-bounds.
“In saying that, it was nice to birdie the last though my dad actually bettered me by five shots but thanks to the birdie it actually turned out to be a decent day.”
McIlroy’s score of 70 matched the pair of 70s he had over the weekend in the 2018 Open and the last occasion he played Carnoustie though the Holywood golfing starlet seems now a little indifferent over a ‘new look’ Angus layout.
“Carnoustie is now so different, even teeing off the 10th hole this morning, at The Open we’re worried about driver going into the burn, and today, you’re trying to hit driver as far up as possible so you can get an 8- or a 9-iron in your hand,” he said.
“It’s played different. I think Carnoustie over the years has gotten a little easier. They have taken a lot of the gorse bushes out where you really had to think about some tee shots, even when I first started to play here.
“Now, with trying to accommodate a lot of spectators or The Open Championship, they have taken a lot of the gorse out, which makes a lot of the tee shots easier, and I think that’s probably why you’re seeing a few lower scores around Carnoustie than you’re used to seeing.”
Padraig Harrington leads the five-man Irish contingent but took most of the gloss from his finishing bogey, bogey in a three-under par 69 also at Carnoustie.
Harrington, and also starting from the 10th, capped his round very early when he raced to four-under in taking birdie at 11, eagling the par-5 12th and then posting birdie at the 14th.
He dropped a shot on his ninth, or the notorious 18th, but then moved to five-under with birdies at his 14th and 15th holes only for the 2007 Carnoustie Open winner to bogey his closing two for a 69.
Struggling Paul Dunne signed for a two-under par 70 at Kingsbarns Links while Graeme McDowell fought back from being two-over par through eight holes to birdie his 13th and 14th holes in a level par 72 at Carnoustie.
And Carnoustie also handed Open Champion, Shane Lowry little favour with the Clara golfer posting a one-over par 73 that including three bogeys and one less birdie.
Fourteen months ago at the 147th Open, Lowry was at one of the low points in his career parting with long-time caddy, Dermot Byrne after a first day 74 and then turning to coach, Neil Manchip to go out to post a second day 73 but miss the cut.
IRISH SECOND ROUND TEE TIMES
Rory McIlroy – 9.11am (Kingsbarns Links)
Paul Dunne – 9.11am (St. Andrews)
Shane Lowry – 10.39am (Kingsbarns Links)
Graeme McDowell – 10.50am (Kingsbarns Links)
Padraig Harrington – 11.23am (Kingsbarns Links)
