Rory McIlroy makes hole in one at Travelers Championship
Rory McIlroy celebrated his first hole-in-one of the PGA Tour in appropriate style in Connecticut on Thursday, but deep down, he must have been thinking why did he not get this sort of break at last week’s US Open, where he was denied his fifth major by just one shot.
Credit to McIlroy, the world No 3, for bouncing back in such style at the Travelers Championship, a four-hour flight east from the Los Angeles Country Club, the scene of the astonishing breakthrough of 125-1 outsider Wyndham Clark on Sunday.
In the wake of his latest agonising close call in the events that truly matter, McIlroy was adamant that in his quest for a first major in nine years he would not lose focus and would maintain his sharpness for next month’s Open Championship.
And so he showed his enduring form in the first round at TPC River Highlands.
McIlroy was one-over when he stepped on to the tee at the 214-yard eighth, ranked as the fifth hardest hole on the Hartford layout and with morning starter Keegan Bradley in the clubhouse on eight-under – as well as his fellow Irishman Shane Lowry having signed for a six-under 64 – McIlroy had plenty of ground to counter.
But with a flash of his five-iron, McIlroy’s ball took two hops before rolling into the cup, almost at dead speed. McIlroy held his arms aloft before high-fiving playing partners Tom Kim and Victork Hovland as well as caddie Harry Diamond. This was just his second ace as a pro, having first tasted the glory on the DP World Tour in Abu Dhabi in 2015.
McIlroy carried on the momentum by so almost holing out for an eagle on the par-four ninth, when his approach from the fairway bunker from 140 yards grazed the cup before finishing within 18 inches. McIlroy converted a 16-footer on the 10th, to make himself four-under for three holes and, although he played his last eight holes in one-over for a 68, the ace provided the 34-year-old with just the uplift he required after the weekend’s disappointment.
That was McIlroy’s 33rd major since the most recent of his four successes at the 2014 US PGA and there has been predictable speculation that the scar tissue will affect his challenge at Hoylake, where he won the Claret Just two weeks before that US PGA nine years ago. However, McIlroy has maintained that he is “closer than ever” and this magic moment can only do wonders for his confidence.
“I’ve had them in the past where it has been like an OK shot and you get a little lucky, but that was the best shot of the day that I hit,” he said. “Obviously a bonus for it to go in the hole, but it was really cool. I played pretty averagely up until that point, but that hole in one got me going.”
McIlroy was not about to bemoan his timing. He is looking forwards not back. “I think that’s something I do a pretty good job with,” he said. “You get your good breaks and you get your bad breaks, and if you have a good attitude towards both of those, I think it all evens out in the end.
“I had a hole-in-one on the European Tour in 2015, but they’re the only two I’ve had in competition as a pro. I’ve had a ton in practice and casual rounds. I threw the ball into the crowd today. I’m not sentimental. I’d rather have trophies than golf balls.”
Leon Maguire starts strong at Women’s LPGA
Meanwhile, at the Women’s LPGA, the second major of the female season, McIlroy’s countrywoman Leona Maguie put herself into contention with a first-round 69.
The 28-year-old’s two-under effort left her in the clubhouse lead alongside Norwegian Celein Borge and Japan’s Ayaka Furue. Having won her second LPGA Tour crown in Michigan on Sunday, Maguire arrived at Baltusrol, the famous layout in New Jersey, as one of the favourites. And the Co Cavan golfer went some way to justifying this tag with a round featuring four birdies and two bogeys.
“I hit every fairway and every green, which in a major championship is as stress-free as you can make it,” she said. “I’m very happy.”
One back stood the remarkable Rose Zhang, the 20-year-old who won her debut pro event on Tour three weeks ago and who has been heavily tipped to win her first major as a pro.
“I felt pretty calm,” the American said. “I was definitely searching my game a little, but this is just who I am.”
