US PGA Championship 2016: Rory McIlroy left green with envy as he struggles to make cut

Pain game: Rory McIlroy endures a torrid time in the first round of the final Major of the season
Andrew Redington/Getty Images
John Huggan29 July 2016

After a disappointing opening round of 74 in the 98th US PGA Championship here, Rory McIlroy could not remember the last time he had played 18 holes in competition without making a birdie.

Which is surprising, given that it happened as recently as April. In shooting a third-round 77 at the Masters, the four-time Major champion failed to put even one red figure on the scoreboard.

The root cause of McIlroy’s poor score on this occasion — one that left him nine shots behind overnight leader Jimmy Walker — was an inability to hole-out from anything beyond close range. In all, he used his putter 35 times, with the total distance of the 18 putts he did make a miserly 37ft, 3in. In other words, the average length of the putts he did make was less than 25 in; the longest the 6ft 11in he made for par on the fifth hole (his 14th).

“I’m happy with my play tee-to-green,” said McIlroy, twice a winner of this championship. “I’m driving the ball as well as I ever have. My iron play feels good. But on the greens I’m struggling with the pace of my putts.

“To me, the greens look a lot quicker than they are. So I need to be a little bit more aggressive, a little bit more free-flowing with my stroke.”

TODAY'S TEE TIMES

Selected, US unless stated, BST

Starting at 1st hole...
5.55pm - E Els (SA), R Fowler (US), Z Johnson
6.15pm - R C-Bella (Spa), J Thomas, P Casey (Eng)
6.25pm - B Snedeker, B Koepka, L Westwood (Eng)
6.35pm - K Bradley, A Scott (Aus), J Donaldson (Wal)
6.45pm - P Mickelson, R McIlroy (NI), J Day (Aus)

Starting at 10th hole...
12.20pm - S Piercy, A Noren (Swe), A Johnston (Eng)
12.50pm - L Donald (Eng), M Kuchar, D Lee (NZ)
1.10pm - S Garcia (Spa), J Spieth, B Watson (US)
1.20pm - J Rose (Eng), P Reed, C Schwartzel (SA)
1.30pm - D Willett (Eng), D Johnson, H Stenson (Swe)
1.40pm - G McDowell (NI), W Simpson, L Oosthuizen (SA)

Promising to spend “as much time as I can” on the practice green before his tee time at 6.45pm, McIlroy made a quick exit after revealing he is not working with a putting coach. That may have to change soon if the world No4 is to remain competitive at the very highest level. With the halfway cut predicted to fall at one over, McIlroy needed an immediate improvement to his putting today.

Still, McIlroy’s poor performance was far from typical of a European contingent led by the 66 shot by Ross Fisher and Martin Kaymer. Andy Sullivan and new Open champion Henrik Stenson were only one shot worse and eight others were also under par.

Another in the 60s was defending champion Jason Day. In the company of McIlroy and Phil Mickelson, the Australian put on something of a ball-striking clinic. Hitting 17 out of 18 greens in regulation figures, Day carded a 68, an obviously decent score that nevertheless reflected badly on his putting.

“I just didn’t capitalise on the opportunities I had,” said Day. “That was disappointing. I haven’t put on the greatest displays of putting over the last three weeks. That shows in my results. But for the most part I feel pretty good. I’m looking forward to the next three days.”

‘I’m driving the ball as well as I ever have but on the greens I’m struggling with the pace of my putts’

&#13; <p>Rory McIlroy</p>&#13;

The same can be said of the third member of the all-star trio. Fresh from his amazing yet ultimately unavailing performance at Royal Troon in the Open Championship, Mickelson went shot-for-shot with McIlroy for the first 11 holes. Which was not a good thing, of course.

But, unlike his companion in match 23 from the 10th tee, the 46-year-old Californian fought back. Three birdies in his last seven holes was a satisfying conclusion to an initially frustrating day.

“When you get into a major championship and the penalty for a miss is severe, it is very easy to start ‘steering’ shots in trying to control them and not swing freely,” said Mickelson.

“That was what I did early on. I was quick from the top (of the backswing). My rhythm wasn’t great. All because I was trying to control the results rather than just swinging and playing the game. I hit some terrible shots the first 11 holes. It took me a while but I got into the flow towards the end.”

Of the three Englishmen who shot a 69 (Chris Wood and Paul Casey the others), Lee Westwood was perhaps most animated. Which was understandable given his birdie-eagle finish to a round that seemed to be getting away from the nine-time Ryder Cup player amidst a run of three bogeys in five holes from the turn.

“I played great all day, hit a lot of good iron shots and drove the ball brilliantly, so it was just a good round of golf,” he said. “It’s probably as well as I’ve hit it for a long time — even [caddie] Billy [Foster] was impressed.”

As has become the fashion these days, Westwood gave credit for the improvements in his recent play to swing coach Pete Cowen, the man who stands behind Masters champion Danny Willett and Open champion Stenson on the range.

“I’ve been hitting the ball with my feet together, which gets my shoulders turning better on the backswing and the follow-through,” said Westwood, who has a record nine top-three finishes in the four Major championships — without winning any. That may change this week, though. Each of the last 17 Major champions have been five shots or less off the lead after round one.

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