Rory McIlroy has been World No. 1 for less than a week and his lofty position is already looking shaky after a ‘mentally flat’ opening day of the WGC – Cadillac Championship in Florida.
McIlroy struggled in the star grouping of the world’s top three ranked golfers with four bogeys and one less birdie in a round of a one over par 73 on the TPC Blue Monster course.
The reigning U.S. Open champion was off to a disappointing start when he bogeyed the 11th hole or the second of his round but bounced back straight away to birdie the next.
However the round continued to be an up-and-down affair for the 22-year old who dropped a shot at his ninth and then headed into the back nine of his round with a birdie at his 1oth but back-to-back bogeys at his 12th and 13th holes that put McIlroy at two over par.
Luke Donald walks off the 1st tee in front and leaves the course 18 holes later still in from of the player who dethroned him as World No. 1. (Photo - Eoin Clarke/www.golffile.ie)
Fortunately, McIlroy was able to get one stroke back when he birdied the eighth or the 17th hole of his round to sign for an eventual 73 and a then share of 44th place.
“It was a bit of a struggle,” said McIlroy.
“It was a pretty tricky day but obviously there was good scores out there. I just didn’t really get anything going. You know, I was trying to sort of play my way back into the round. I thought if I could shoot under par on the back nine, which was the front nine, post something around 70, 69, it would have been a good score.”
But just four days after winning the Honda Classic by two strokes to become the second youngest ever World No. 1 McIlroy could easily be back to No. 2 come Sunday night.
“I just feel mentally flat,” he added.
“I mean, physically, I’m fine. But mentally, just‑‑ I don’t know, it’s tough. When you’re working, you’ve got, you know, Arizona and you’ve got a chance to go to world No. 1; and then Honda, you’ve got a chance to then‑‑ all of a sudden you’re there, and you’re like, well, what do you do.
“I just need to go out and set myself a target tomorrow and try and post a number.
”So I’m not particularly fresh or‑‑ I felt fine, but I was just saying to the guys, just feeling a little bit flat and hard to get any sort of momentum going.”
And McIlroy’s day was not helped as Luke Donald, and the player McIlroy dethroned last week as World No. 1, ended the round four strokes fewer than McIlroy.
Donald will go back to No. 1 in the world should he win this week no matter where McIlroy finishes in Florida.
Also Ian Barker from the Official World Rankings indicated that Donald could possibly go back to the game’s best ranked by finishing top-four and depending of course where McIlroy and or Lee Westwood finish.
Barker indicated also Westwood, who carded a shock four over par 76, would move back to World No. 1 should he win and McIlroy finishes ‘worst than third on his own’.
McIlroy’s opening round Doral effort is the seventh occasion in 13 rounds of the TPC Blue Monster McIlroy had failed to break par.
Fellow U.S. Open winner and Northern Irishman Graeme McDowell as well struggled to a three over par 75.
‘G Mac’ has now played 17 rounds of Doral and broken 70 just twice and that was in 2010 on route to finishing in a share of sixth place.
Australia’s Adam Scott, who is the reigning WGC – Bridgestone Invitational champion, along with American Jason Duffner head the $US 8.5m event early after signing for a six under par 66s.
