NEWTOWN SQUARE, PA — Rory McIlroy was not holding back.
The six-time major champion had just taken a seat in the PGA Championship interview room when he was asked, “How would you describe your opening round?”
McIlroy gave a one-word answer.
“S***,” he said.
McIlroy, who started on the 10th hole, was OK through 14 holes, being even par. Then the wheels fell off … his driver.
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Four bogeys on the final four holes (five in the last six) led to a 4-over 74.
And McIlroy made it clear. This had nothing to do with his pinky toe.
When asked if the toe bothered him — he is dealing with a blister that formed under the nail of his right toe during last week’s Truist Championship leading to him ripping off the toe nail and playing with a wider shoe to ease the discomfort — that too elicited a one-word response.
“No,” he said.
What is bothering him is a wayward driver.
“I started missing fairways,” the Jupiter resident said, listing off Nos. 4, 6, 7, 9.
“From there, it’s hard,” he continued. “I didn’t have great angles either. Then obviously you start missing it just off the edges of these greens, it gets tricky.
After a birdie on No. 5 to get to par, McIlroy summed up the last four holes.
“I just got on that bogey train at the end,” he said.
Driver has been a problem all year for Rory McIlroy
McIlroy said the driver has been a problem all year, although he was able to overcome it to win his second consecutive Masters.
Especially missing to the right.
“I want to try to correct it and then I’ll overdo it, and I’ll miss it left,” he said. “It’s a little bit of back and forth that way. So that’s pretty frustrating, especially when I pride myself on driving the ball well.
“I just need to try to figure it out. I honestly thought I’d figured it out. Coming in here, I hit it well on Sunday at Quail Hollow, and then hit it good at home on Monday. I had to curtail the practice round Tuesday (because of the blister), but hit it decent (Wednesday).”
Tom D’Angelo is a senior sports columnist and reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at tdangelo@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Rory McIlroy’s driver, not toe, reason for 74 at PGA Championship
Reporting by Tom D’Angelo, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
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