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Well, that wasn’t in the script.
Playing in front of a home crowd, Rory McIlroy endured a shocking start to this year’s Open Championship at Royal Portrush.
A quadruple-bogey EIGHT!
After hitting his tee shot out of bounds, the four-time major
champion had to play three off the tee, finding the deep rough. He then
had to take an unplayable near the green before missing a five-foot putt
for a seven.
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He dropped another shot at the third before repairing some of the damage with birdies at the seventh and ninth.
However, two doubles in his final three holes compounded a thoroughly miserable day.
Afterwards, McIlroy said: “It was a rough start but I felt like I
showed some good resilience after that. I think I played the next 13 or
14 holes at two-under-par.
“What I’m disappointed about is I undid all that great work the last few holes.
• Duval sets unwanted record at Portrush
“I
definitely think if I can put the ball in the fairway tomorrow I can
shoot a good enough score to be around for the weekend.
• ‘Beef’ full of praise for Robert MacIntyre
“Obviously I’m
pretty sure anyone starting with a 79 in this golf tournament doesn’t
think about winning at this point. But I think I can go out there and
shoot something in the mid-60s, be around for the weekend, and then try
to play good from there.
ALL ABOUT THE OPEN
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