Rory McIlroy was at the centre of conversation before the PGA Championship, and that hasn’t changed after his opening round.
During the week, McIlroy claimed there was little strategy required at Aronimink Golf Club. He said that on most holes you needed to just hit driver and figure the rest out, but he couldn’t have been proven more wrong.
McIlroy’s driver was off during his opening round, which led to him missing fairways left and right. And he was punished by the long, grabby rough, which led to four-straight bogeys to end his opening round.
Paul McGinley was quick to remind everyone of McIlroy’s pre tournament comments, and said he has been proven dead wrong.
McGinley watched McIlroy’s difficult start to the PGA Championship on Sky Sports, and he had plenty to say about his pre-tournament comments.
Speaking on commentary, he said, “”He didn’t putt very well with 36 putts. But it all happens off the tee. All of his shots except the one par three on eight were being wild off the tee and not being able to recover.
“We saw him win The Masters so brilliantly, but remember he was second last in driving accuracy, but he got away with it.
“Today, Aronimink jumped up and bit anybody who was in the rough. A lot of storylines were players saying that was no strategy off the tee. But that is not the case. You miss fairways at your peril out here. These greens are treacherous and you have to be on the fairway to control your spin.”
McIlroy was constantly in the pinestraw at Augusta, but the nature of the golf course allowed him to seek creative routes to the green. That wasn’t possible at Aronimink, which made McIlroy pay for his comments.
McIlroy was asked after his round if he was wrong about the golf course. He responded, “It’s hit and miss. I think, if you miss it on the right side going into like — you know, if the pin’s on the left, you miss it right, it’s fine.
“But yeah, I got a couple of lies today that were particularly bad. The one on the 10th hole starting off, that’s as bad as I’ve seen.
“Yeah, there is a penalty for — certainly is a penalty for missing the fairway. Probably more than what I anticipated after being here, whatever it is, two Fridays ago.”
McIlroy may have to change his strategy off the tee if he wants to climb back over the cut line on Friday.
