Third seed Rory McIlroy was singing the praise of two news clubs in being untroubled, breezing into the second round of today’s (THURS) of the WGC – Dell Match-Play Championship in Texas.
McIlroy accounted for American Scott Stallings wrapping-up a 3 & 1 victory in holing a seven-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole in the $US 20m event on the host Austin Country Club course.
McIlroy headed into the final hosting of the event having put a shorter shaft, albeit by half-an-inch, into hisTaylorMade driver, as well as his decision to go with a new putter, a Scotty Cameron Tour-Only 009-M putter with a black steel shaft..
“Yeah, it was really good,” he said of the driver.
“So it was good to see. It was good to put it in play today and have to perform pretty well. Drove it well, especially on the back nine.
“I mean, obviously this part of the season you’ve got one eye on what you’re doing now and one eye on Augusta. It’s trying to do both.
“That’s the main thing this week. Obviously there’s a ton of golf left this season, but to get a little bit of match play in our lives is good and get under pressure. There’s a couple of putts on the back nine there that I was actually glad I had the hole. It’s good practice, but at the same time I want to win the match, as well.
“Overall, it was a good first starting for both those clubs, and they both performed pretty well”.
The World No. 3 ranked McIlroy was never behind, going 1up when Stallings bogeyed the first and then going 3up thanks to back-to-back birdies at five and six.
McIlroy then stumbled to bogey the eighth hole to a Stallings par, and with the three-time Tour winner Stallings who has not won since 2014, winning the ninth with a birdie to be just one down.
However, McIlroy had other ideas winning the 12th hole with a birdie to Stallings bogey and while each birdied the 13th, the Irishman wrapped it up with his birdies on 16 and 17.
McIlroy was cheekily quizzed what he did with his old putter and remarking (smiling): “I think my dad has it. Yeah, I don’t know. I think my dad has it somewhere”,
McIlroy heads into Friday’s second round robin encounter facing another American in Denny McCarthy who was 3up with four holes to against compatriot Keegan Bradley, and with Bradley tieing the match, winning 15 with a birdie, 16 with an eagle and birdieing the last.
Biggest winner among the groups to have completed their way was Austrian-born Sepp Straka, handing out a 6 & 5 thumping to Canadian Corey Conners.
