Atlanta, GA …
Rory McIlroy raced to an early two-shot lead and promises of a second straight very low opening score only to end his round trialing two shots from the lead with a 67 in heatwave conditions on day one of the Tour Championship in Atlanta.
Ryder Cup rivals Tiger Woods, who holed a 30-foot eagle putt at the last, and Rickie Fowler share the lead with five-under par 66s.
It is the second straight event in succession Woods has shared the first-round lead after he and McIlroy were tied at the top with 62s on day one of the BMW Championship in Philadelphia.
“To finish with an eagle was nice as I hammered that drive up the left side, and it was nice to see it not in the rough before hitting 5-wood to the green,” said Woods.
Rory McIlroy on route to a round of 67 on day one of the season-endingn Tour Championship. (Photo @pgatour)
“I played really well today and though it wasn’t exactly the start I was looking for in taking the bogey at one, I made two good putts there at five and six and got to under par, and then from there I hit it pretty good, made a few putts.
“But more than anything, I missed it all on the correct sides. Even the fairways I missed, all were on the correct sides. I had nice angles.
“The shots I missed were on the greens, all had beautiful angles. All in all, I had a lot of control today”.
It took McIlroy just two holes, thanks to 17-footer for birdie at the second, to move into a share of the lead and then a three-footer at the next to be leading the season-ending event.
Fernanda, and a 16-year visitor from Brazil, proudly shows off the golf ball handed by her by Rory McIlroy after he had just birdied the 10th hole on day one of the Tour Championship (Photo @tourmiss)
McIlroy then moved two strokes clear of his 29 rivals when found the bottom of the cup with a seven-foot birdie at the fourth.
It had been an exact mirror to the opening round two weeks earlier at the BMW Championship but that’s where any similarities ended.
McIlroy did go to four-under in holing a 10-footer on six but he dropped a shot at the short par-4 eighth hole where he fluffed a 71-yard third shot and three-putted from 37-feet including missing a three-footer for par.
He headed to the 10th still leading at three-under and recognising a 10-year old youngster who greeted McIlroy saying: “Rory, You’re my favourite golfer”.
McIlroy let loose a booming 354-yard drive down the 10th, easily out-driving defending Tour Championship winner and playing partner, Xander Schauffele by some 25-yards.
After knocking in the two-footer for a fifth birdie of the day, McIlroy delighted a visiting 16-year old from Brazil presenting her with his golf ball as he strode to the 11th tee.
McIlroy’s new ball did him no favours at the downhill par-3 lipping-out from 15-feet, and for a third time in his round.
East Lake then jumped-up to bite McIlroy hard at the uphill par-4 12th with McIlroy staring down an errant drive that found a fairway bunker but then finding a greenside bunker with his second and once on the green, he three-putted from near 40-feet.
The ‘double’ sent McIlroy back to a share of third but he got a shot back with a birdie on 14 prior to finishing bogey and birdie to be then fourth at three under.
“I felt like a 67 was the worst I could have shot,” said McIlroy.
“After the start, I felt I could have shot something in the — definitely in the mid 60s. I felt like I could have shot something in the low 60s the way I hit it.
“But if I keep swinging like I did today, and keep giving myself chances, and I’d say three more 67s, I’ll be right in the mix on Sunday.”
McIlroy spoke on the eve of the event about the ‘process’ and the importance to him of continuing to improve, continuing to learn from each round he plays and taking those positives with him on his golf career ‘journey’.
Though it led to one journalist asking McIlroy if this week and next week’s Ryder Cup could change the complexion of his season.
“Not really. I mean, I go to the Ryder Cup next week and win five matches and we lose the event, like I’ll be devastated,” he said.
“I’m playing well. I said to Bernie (www.golfbtourmiss.com) the other day, it’s not always about the results, it’s about the journey, and it’s about trying to keep improving and getting better. If you look at my results this year compared to last year, it’s a step in the right direction.”
A check of McIlroy’s stats shows he hit seven of the 14 fairways and had 29 putts.
