SM
Watford vs. Leeds: 9 hrs 19 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews

McIlroy pleased with 'good day's work' after opening 68 at US Open

:Headline: McIlroy pleased with 'good day's work' after opening 68 at US Open: ID:361958: from db_amp
The Northern Irishman sits two shots behind clubhouse leader Rickie Fowler.

Rory McIlroy produced the fast start he had craved as he set about trying to create history in the US Open at Pebble Beach.

All four of McIlroy's previous major titles came after a first round in the 60s and the 30-year-old will hope that sequence continues after an opening 68 which left him two shots off the clubhouse lead held by Rickie Fowler, Xander Schauffele and Louis Oosthuizen.

Among the later starters, defending champion Brooks Koepka, who is trying to become just the second player to win three straight US Opens, had made an ominous start with four birdies in his first six holes.

Masters champion Tiger Woods, who won by 15 shots at Pebble Beach in 2000, was level par at the same stage of his round after carding two birdies and a double bogey on the fifth.

McIlroy won the 2011 US Open with a record total of 16 under par but was a total of 53 over for his seven subsequent starts and 36 over in the first round alone, the world number three admitting after a third straight missed cut in 2018 that his record was "pathetic".

He could therefore have been forgiven for fearing the worst after starting on the back nine and making a bogey on the 10th after pulling his approach into a bunker, but McIlroy birdied the 13th and then hit a superb tee shot on the par-three 17th to set up another.

After scrambling for a par on the 18th, McIlroy picked up further shots on the second and third and also holed from 15 feet for par on the fifth after duffing his chip from heavy rough just off the green.

“I did everything you need to do in a US Open, I stayed patient after I bogeyed the first and played really solid after that so I did what you are supposed to do, make a lot of pars, chip off the birdies when you can and it was a good day's work.”
- Rory McIlroy

Victories in the Bridgestone Invitational and US PGA Championship in 2014 make McIlroy the last player to win a PGA Tour event immediately before winning a major, but no player has ever followed a Tour victory with another at the US Open.

McIlroy can achieve that feat this week following his dominant victory in the RBC Canadian Open, where he closed with rounds of 64 and 61 to win by seven shots – the tournament's biggest winning margin in 67 years.

"I think I did what I wanted to do, which was hit it in the fairways for the most part, hit a lot of greens and when I didn't I was able to get it up and down," McIlroy said.

"I did everything you need to do in a US Open, I stayed patient after I bogeyed the first and played really solid after that so I did what you are supposed to do, make a lot of pars, chip off the birdies when you can and it was a good day's work.

"It's important for everybody (to make a fast start) but especially trying to get my way back to winning these big events it is important. The first two majors this year I shot 73 at Augusta and over par at Bethpage as well and it's so hard to chase, especially when courses are so tough

"To get off to such a good start you are right in the tournament from the start which is a nice position to be in."

Fowler is one of the players saddled with the tag of "best player yet to win a major" after racking up eight top-five finishes, four of them coming in one season in 2014.

Further doubts were raised about his ability to close out tournaments when he looked set to blow a four-shot lead in the final round in Phoenix earlier this season, but the 30-year-old rallied to complete a two-shot win and his opening 65 here contained six birdies and a solitary bogey.

"I said earlier in the week that whether I win a major or I don't in my career, it's not something that's going to define me," Fowler said.

"There's a lot of other things that I'd love to be remembered by, work off the golf course and making a difference and changing people's lives. It would be nice to have a major on the resume. We'll see what we can do."

amp_article__361958 : Database Data restored...  : 
last updated article - 2019-06-14 07:15:43:
html db last update - 2021-02-11 01:36:48 :

ex - 7200 : read : read cache amp html

Click here for more stories about Rory McIlroy

Share this article now:
Recommended Next on SM
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Arsenal28204470244664
2Liverpool28197265263964
3Manchester CityMan City28196363283563
4Aston Villa29175760421856
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs28165759421753
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd28152113939047
7West Ham UnitedWest Ham2912894650-444
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2811985044642
9Wolverhampton WanderersWolves28125114244-241
10Newcastle UnitedNewcastle281241259481140
11Chelsea27116104745239
12Fulham29115134344-138
13Bournemouth2898114152-1135
14Crystal Palace2878133348-1529
15Brentford2975174154-1326
16Everton2887132939-1025
17Luton TownLuton2957174260-1822
18Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest2967163551-1621
19Burnley2945202963-3417
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd2835202474-5014
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.



. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .