Ireland Straffen – Rory McIlroy bolted two holes in his last three holes and faded 71 in the first round of the Irish Open in Thursday’s latest destination.
The second-place in the world, attracting the biggest gallery of the day at K Club, he hopes to eliminate the match from Bethpage Black’s Ryder Cup, and the Northern Irish is expected to be a major player in Europe again.
McIlroy said he was encouraged by his game – after the start of 10th, the birdies in four of his first nine holes performed well, “better than the scores reflected.” His end hurt him the most, missing the green on 7 and 8 and thus failed to get on and off.
“The game feels pretty good, it’s just that it’s more efficient in scoring,” McIlroy added.
McIlroy suffered five strokes under the clubhouse held by Nacho Elvira, with his 66ers bogey-free and included birdies in four of his last six holes.
The Spaniard shot one shot before Bern Wiesberg, Daniel Brown and Adrian Sadie.
Shane Lowry, another member of the European Ryder Cup team in Ireland, played in front of his guy, and three of his last six holes hit 69.
