Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images
Rory McIlroy struggled on his opening nine, but once he made the turn, showed that even when he isn’t his best, there is still greatness there.
Even when Rory McIlroy isn’t having his best day, there are always a couple of moments that make people realize how good he is. He scuffled on his front nine, going 3 over. However, the four-time Major winner reminded everyone how good he can be at any moment.
McIlroy sank s 36-foot putt up a steep hill from well off the green. It was a spectacular par save that just might have saved his PGA Championship. He followed it up with back-to-back birdies on Holes No. 3 and 4.
His birdie on No. 3 was a momentum booster after his impressive tee shot left him with just two feet to the hole. McIlroy had a look at an eagle putt on No. 4, but the ball cruised past the hole to give him a second-straight tap-in birdie.
He gave a stroke back on the fifth, missing a relatively easy par save from four feet up hill.
McIlroy likely won’t be out of the hunt. If anyone knows how important it is to have a few bogey saves on a course like Oak Hill Country Club, it’s McIlory. His two-way miss is a hard thing to battle in any round of golf, but at a major championship, there must be even more pressure on him.
McIlory’s up-and-down round-one performance has caused the golf Twitter world to have mixed feelings. Some feel like that par save was the turning point of his round, while others don’t expect him to execute off that spark of momentum.
YESSSSSSSIRRRRR RORY MCILROY!!!!!!!!
INCREDIBLE TEE SHOT REWARDED WITH A TAP IN FOR BIRDIE & HES BACK TO +2. pic.twitter.com/vkxmK5vPwy
— Irish Golf Course Guide (@golfcourseire) May 18, 2023
Rory McIlroy doing Rory McIlroy shit.
— The Rambassator (@RamDadOf2) May 18, 2023
Rory McIlroy being one of the favorites to win each major and then proceeding to miss the cut or not come close to winning is a never ending cycle that I don’t understand
— Logan Frye (@lfrye13) May 18, 2023
Rory McIlroy has never been farther away from winning a major. He’s awful right now.
— Ryan Macdonald (@ryanmacdonald7) May 18, 2023
Rory McIlroy: playing himself out of a major early and scrambling to get back, a tradition unlike any other.
— Woz (@wozmatic) May 18, 2023
If Rory McIlroy can get it in the house at +3 he is not out of it. That’s an outrageous par he just made on his 11th hole. Needed it, didn’t deserve it!
— Rónán MacNamara (@macnamararonan) May 18, 2023
Me after The Masters: “I’m not betting on Rory McIlroy to win a major until I see him win one first.”
Me for the very next major: *bets on Rory McIlroy*
— Doug Greenberg (@DougGreenberg) May 18, 2023
Rory Mcilroy gets made more or less favourite for every golf tournement he enters and quite frankly its madness….already +3 after 11 today after a awful Masters
— Luke (@lukeWilko1878) May 18, 2023
One thing is sure, regardless if people like McIlroy or not, he is someone who moves the needle. He doesn’t carry the weight of a Tiger Woods, but he’s probably the next closest thing. That will always stir emotion from golf fans, one way or another.
