Photo by Jason Allen/ISI Photos/Getty Images
McIlroy made the field look inferior off the tee as he is in contention after Day 1 of the FedEx St. Jude Championship.
The FedEx Cup playoffs are here, and Rory McIlroy showed off his impeccable driving skills on Day 1.
McIlroy fired off a 3-under 67 to sit at T15 after round one of the FedEx St. Jude Championship Thursday afternoon.
He is four shots behind Jordan Spieth, who carded a bogey-free 63 to lead at 7-under. McIlroy put on a clinic off the tee as his driver was his
“I don’t know if I can remember a round where I’ve driven it that well, at least in recent memory,” McIlroy said. “I drove it really well today and gave myself so many looks from the fairway.”
McIlory led the field in strokes gained off the tee and in driving distance. He hit 10 of 14 fairways on the day.
“If I can get my club face and my body rotation matched up, that’s when I drive it my best, and today it did that… It was just a really good day. If I can sort of feel like my body is turning and my club face is staying stable through impact, that’s sort of the secret to driving it the way I drove it today.”
The Northern Irishman made four birdies, an eagle and three bogeys. He eagled the par-5 16th and got to 4-under before struggling down the stretch. McIlroy bogeyed two of his last three holes. He was T50 in strokes gained putting, so while he was great off the tee, his flat stick still gave him fits.
“Sort of walking off the course disappointed with 3-under,” McIlroy said. “I felt on another day when I had been on a little bit more, especially with the putter, it could have been a 63 or a 64.”
This week, he put a new putter in the bag, a Scotty Cameron Phantom. While he used that new flat stick on Thursday, it may not stay in the bag for long.
“My speed is good with it. It’s just a matter of getting the thing on line,” McIlroy said. “I’ll give the garage putter one more day and see how we go. Fax has already sent me the putt that I hit at the last, and it was a really good putt from down the line. Ball rolled end over end.”
“It was a good stroke. For me, it’s just the reads more than anything else. If I can just sort of get my reads a little bit better — I feel like I’m stroking it well and I’m starting the ball on line.”
McIlroy sits No. 3 on the FedEx Cup points list right now, safely securing his spot into the next two events at the BMW Championship in Chicago and Tour Championship in Atlanta.
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and on Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.
