The Telegraph
Rory McIlroy bounced back from last week's first missed cut in two years with a first-round 69 to put himself into contention at the WGC Workday Championship. The Northern Irishman rued four skewed putts of seven feet or less, but that stat only shows how adeptly he played tee to green. And after last week’s horror show in the Hollywood hills - where he fell short of the weekend by an outrageous seven shots - this was a most welcome improvement with the Masters but six weeks’ away. What will have especially pleased the 31-year-old with his three-under beginning at The Concession course, just south of Tampa, was the transformation in his long game. He is three back from leaders England’s Matt Fitzpatrick and world No 9 Webb Simpson. “The club was getting behind me on the way back,” McIlroy said. “I hit pulls or these sort of spinny cuts, which isn't like me. If anything, I'm usually the other way and the club shallows too much and I get stuck. So it's a different pattern for me and a different pattern to try to work with and tease back into the right positions. Yeah, I think I learned a couple of things at the Genesis [Invitational].”