McIlroy off to a good start in wine country with Frys.com Open 68
Rory McIlroy was obligated to play this week, but that doesn't mean he isn't enjoying himself.
McIlroy is in the Frys.com Open field as part of a 2012 compromise he and seven other players made with the PGA Tour, by which the Tour granted the group an allowance to play in a big-money exhibition called the Turkish Airlines World Golf Finals instead of the Northern California event that now kicks off the PGA Tour wraparound season.
The world No. 3, who has played limited golf since a July 4 soccer injury forced him to miss his title defense at the British Open, opened with 4-under 68 at the Silverado Resort's North Course to end Day 1 five shots off the lead of Brendan Steele.
“Yeah, I was obligated,” McIlroy said, “but I was looking forward to coming here because I haven’t played that much and because there is stuff to do off the golf course. It was always going to be a week where it was great to get some competitive play but enjoy yourself at the same time.”
Not only is McIlroy happy to get in some competitive play, but he's happy to be in California Wine Country.
“After this we’re going to go to the vineyard and check it out,” McIlroy said. “Excited about that.”
There is a danger, however, of getting too much into the Napa spirit and winding up with a nasty headache on the first tee the next day.
"There is a lot of stuff to do off the golf course as well," he said. "Just trying to find a balance between not feeling too hungover when you tee it up the next day.”
Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.
