Rory McIlroy

McIlroy arrived at the PGA Tour's flagship event seeking a return to the world number one spot, but little went right for him on a dismal day one.

He would have identified the par five 16th as an opportunity to gain some ground on the field but a poor tee shot led to his frustration bubbling over. [Rory McIlroy comes up just short at Arnold Palmer Invitational](https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/sport/other-sport/golf/rory-mcilroy-comes-up-just-26395444) [Jack Nicklaus shares Rory McIlroy concern which could cost him more majors](https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/sport/other-sport/golf/jack-nicklaus-shares-rory-mcilroy-26395231) [Rory McIlroy defends PGA Tour no-cut policy despite LIV stars mocking decision](https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/sport/other-sport/golf/rory-mcilroy-defends-pga-tour-26369161) [Rory McIlroy's F-bomb to LIV Golf star hailed highlight of Netflix series](https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/sport/other-sport/golf/rory-mcilroys-f-bomb-liv-26253498) [Rory McIlroy makes bullish claim as he plots more 'glory days'](https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/sport/other-sport/golf/rory-mcilroy-makes-bullish-claim-26192385) [Sign up to our free sports newsletter](https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/newsletter-preference-centre/?view=Solus&mailingListId=9e6fed01-dc22-4b4b-873a-afe983e85ba3&utm_source=solusarticle) to get the latest headlines to your inbox. The Northern Irishman had arrived at the PGA Tour’s flagship event seeking a return to the world number one spot, but little went right for him on day one after beginning with a double bogey. Thankfully McIlroy avoided the water on the iconic 17th hole at Sawgrass where the green is surrounded by a lake. A birdie on the next hole eased the tension somewhat but McIlroy then bogeyed the par four 15th. The star-studded group began at the 10th hole where McIlroy carded a double bogey and already his frustrations were evident in front of a large gallery of spectators.

The Northern Irishman had arrived at the PGA Tour's flagship event seeking a return to the world number one spot, but little went right for him on day one after ...

Australian Min Woo Lee put himself among the early front-runners after six birdies in his opening 13 holes but he finished on four under after closing with back-to-back bogeys. He followed up with successive birdies on the 18th and first to briefly move to five under par but he later fell away and signed for a one-over 73 after double bogeys on the sixth and eighth. The Northern Irishman had arrived at the PGA Tour’s flagship event seeking a return to the world number one spot, but little went right for him on day one after beginning with a double bogey.

The Northern Irishman was the odd man out in the marquee group of the first two rounds as Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler, the only two players ahead of him in ...

“I feel like this is as penal as I’ve seen it out of the rough for a long time. He arrived holding the lead at six under but he hit his tee shot into the lake surrounding the green and only managed to escape with a bogey courtesy of a brilliant pitch shot from the drop zone. “Last week I kind of lost it, I didn’t know where the ball was going and I think this score showed I knew where the ball was going and that gave me a lot of freedom to play golf,” he told Sky Sports. “I hit a lot of putts and just kept burning edges to go to one that looked like it was going in. Ramey, the 30-year-old from Mississippi whose only PGA Tour win came a year ago in his maiden season, had six birdies in his first 11 holes but turned on the style at the end as he birdied the par-five 16th and then hit it to a foot at the famous 17th to take the outright lead. It’s golf.”

Following an interesting and industry-shaping press conference on Tuesday in which McIlroy discussed the future of the PGA Tour and professional golf, he was ...

McIlroy will play late on Friday alongside Rahm and Scottie Scheffler as he tries to shoot something silly to play his way inside the cut and perhaps back into the tournament a bit. This was not helped by the fact that he left a shot in the bunker on that same closing hole. That's why his number ballooned right past even par to 4 over, one of the worst scores in the morning wave. He bounced back with birdie at the par-5 11th, but even his biggest highlight on his first nine (the back nine on the course) wasn't actually a highlight. McIlroy made just one putt longer than 4 feet, and it came on the last hole for bogey to avoid shooting 77. (He played the par-5s at even par, a horrible number for him.)

Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy hits a four-over-par 76 to finish 12 shots behind early clubhouse leader Chad Ramey in round one of the Players ...

"I hit a really good shot out of the pine straw and didn't capitalise on that. "I feel like this is as penal as I've seen it out of the rough for a long time. Another pushed drive on the par-five 16th left McIlroy with a tough 200-yard second shot from the pine straw, with water waiting for anything leaked further right. A run of seven pars followed before he dropped his solitary shot on the par-three eighth. His third bounced through the green into a bunker and McIlroy would take three more from there. His opening shot will be a 28-foot eagle putt on the par-five 16th.

Former champion cards 76 and sits 12 shots off the early clubhouse lead in Florida.

Rory McIlroy is in need of a bounce if he is to survive the cut at the Players Championship and he is sharp enough to understand the irony of such an ...

'I just couldn't really get anything going,' added McIlroy, whose hadn't hit such a high score since the first round of the 2021 Masters. 'These driver heads are so finicky that it's hard to get one exactly the same. 'I can't because if you use a driver for so long, it just wouldn't pass the test.

Rory McIlroy posted an opening 76 at the Players Championship due to some wayward driving, his worst competitive score in nearly two years.

I need to regroup and try to shoot a good one tomorrow and be here for the weekend.” Unsurprisingly, McIlroy was seen battering drives down the range long after his round had concluded. There’s obviously a part of it that’s the user, as well. “They were testing drivers at Riviera but I just didn’t even want to take the chance. “That’s the reason the score is what it is.” McIlroy said: “I went to that new driver in Riviera, and it’s just not … After all, a bounce is precisely what McIlroy needs during round two in order to survive for the weekend.

Rory McIlroy says he chose to take his favorite driver out of play for fear that the face had softened and it would not meet USGA specs.

“There's not a lot of left in it, which I like,” he said. He said he likes how the new driver has controlled his miss. Under a recently revised interpretation of the rules, a driver that was conforming is worn into a non-conformiong state, "the damage will be deemed to have occurred after the start of the previous round [i.e., prior to the field test], so that no retrospective penalties would be applied, unless the player had knowledge, prior to the field test, that the club did not conform." He said the problem may have been a driver that was too hot and one he hasn’t figured out yet. “I wish I could use my driver from last year, but I can't just because you use a driver for so long, and it starts to get a little too ... He switched to TaylorMade’s latest Stealth 2 Plus, the second version of the company’s drivers that feature a carbon composite face.

Chad Ramey upstaged the PGA Tour's biggest names to claim a shock lead after the opening round of The Players, where Rory McIlroy endured a nightmare start ...

Live coverage continues on Friday from 11.30am on Sky Sports Golf, with a host of extra feeds available via the red button. "Not easy at all," Ramey said. Scheffler is joined in the group on four under by Min Woo Lee, who bogeyed his final two holes after suffering cramp late in his round, with Jordan Spieth starting his back nine with three consecutive birdies on his way to a three-under 69. Morikawa held the outright advantage earlier in the day after mixing five birdies with a stunning eagle at the par-five second, where he fired his approach to within four feet of the flag, while Suh made a late charge for the lead when he posted five birdies in a five-hole stretch from the seventh to join the group tied-third. Scheffler birdied three of his last four holes to card an opening-round 68 and current world No 1 Rahm lies seven back after a one-under 71, while McIlroy is in danger of missing the cut after double-bogeying his opening hole and adding four bogeys in a frustrating four-over 76. Collin Morikawa holds second spot and world No 2 Scottie Scheffler is within four of the lead, with Rory McIlroy 12 strokes off the pace struggling to an opening 76; Watch the second round live on Friday from 11.30am on Sky Sports Golf, with extra feeds via the red button

The 2019 champion at Sawgrass went off with Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler, in a marquee group consisting of the three best players in the world, with top spot ...

From there he did well to limit the damage by getting up-and-down from 70 yards, though that damage was a sextuple-bogey ten as he carded an eight-over-par round of 80. “I feel like this is as penal as I’ve seen it out of the rough for a long time. The 33-year-old hit only six of 14 fairways.

McIlroy played alongside Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler, the only two players above him the world rankings, where he endured an erratic day off the tee and a ...

Live coverage continues on Friday from 11.30am on Sky Sports Golf, with a host of extra feeds available via the red button. "They were testing drivers at Riviera [last month], but I just didn't even want to take the chance. Yeah, there's obviously a part of it that's the user, as well.

After a disappointing opening four-over 76 at the Players Championship, Rory McIlroy explained why he left behind his driver of choice.

McIlroy is three strokes off the current cut line and in need of a big second round if he is to give himself a chance this weekend. When asked if his new driver showed a tendency off the tee, McIlroy said, “If anything there’s not a lot of left in it, which I like. “Yeah, there’s obviously a part of it that’s the user, as well. The more the face flexes on impact, the more the metal — or carbon, in the case of McIlroy’s Stealth 2 Plus — starts to fatigue. “I just was not comfortable knowing that it could feel — doesn’t look good on me, doesn’t look good on TaylorMade.” If the driver’s face is too fast, it can be deemed non-conforming/illegal.

Rory McIlroy went straight from the final green to the driving range after slumping to an opening round of 76 at The Players Championship.

The intimidating sight of Collin Morikawa is looming large in Ramey’s mirrors. “I hit a really good shot out of the pine straw there and didn’t capitalise on that, and making bogey on one and bogey on three … - T6. - T3. - 2. - 1.

The Northern Irishman was the odd man out in the marquee group of the first two rounds as Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler, the only two players ahead of him in ...

“I feel like this is as penal as I’ve seen it out of the rough for a long time. He arrived holding the lead at six under but he hit his tee shot into the lake surrounding the green and only managed to escape with a bogey courtesy of a brilliant pitch shot from the drop zone. “Last week I kind of lost it, I didn’t know where the ball was going and I think this score showed I knew where the ball was going and that gave me a lot of freedom to play golf,” he told Sky Sports. “I hit a lot of putts and just kept burning edges to go to one that looked like it was going in. Ramey, the 30-year-old from Mississippi whose only PGA Tour win came a year ago in his maiden season, had six birdies in his first 11 holes but turned on the style at the end as he birdied the par-five 16th and then hit it to a foot at the famous 17th to take the outright lead. It’s golf.”