Battling Rory McIlroy ‘pleased’ with opening round 71 after tricky start
By Matt Coles
It was a battle out there for the 2014 Open Champion, and he wasn’t the only man to need more than one to get out of a greenside bunker on 18…
Two-over through 12. Two shots in a greenside bunker on 18. Rory McIlroy was “pretty pleased” after finishing the opening day at level par.
The 2014 Open Champion was close to the par-5 last in two, but found himself in one of the dreaded greenside bunkers.
He was able to get up-and-down from his second shot in the bunker to save his par, shooting a 71 on the opening day.
“I wouldn’t have been too happy walking off the 18th with a bogey. Especially after the two shots I hit in there,” McIlroy said after his opening round.
“When you hit it into these bunkers, you are riding your luck at that point and hoping it is not up against one of those riveted faces.
“Jon [Rahm] and I did not have much of a shot with our thirds, so then you are just hoping to make par somehow and get out of there. Overall, two-over through 12, to get back to even for the day, I am pretty pleased with that.
“I needed to stay patient out there, it wasn’t the easiest of days, but I am still right in there. Go out in the morning and shoot something in 60s and I will hopefully be right in the mix.”
“As I said, two-over through 12. To walk off with even par, knowing that I had a few tough holes coming up, but the two par-5s as well. I think walking to the 13th tee, I would have taken even-par to finish the day and that is exactly where I ended up.”
McIlroy, the last man to win the Open at Royal Liverpool, birdied his second hole of the day, but went out in 36.
Another bogey followed at 12, before back-to-back birdies at 14 and 15 saw the Northern Irishman get level on the card.
“I didn’t really get it going on the front nine. I was missing a few putts and I missed that little one on the 8th hole. I had a good chance to get it back at 9. Hit a good putt but I just didn’t read it right.
“A few putts started to go in on the back nine for me which was really nice to see and hopefully I have got my eye in, and I can build on that over the next three days.”
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Matt Coles
Mention a European country, and Matt will tell you which resorts make the National Club Golfer Top 100s: European Resorts list. He might even throw in who designed the golf course and how many rooms the hotel has got at each one…
Matt got into the game of golf from a young age, following his old man to the local golf club. He fell for the sport, and now can’t seem to go a day without thinking about how to improve his game (Thanks Dad!). Matt has been a member of Howley Hall GC in Leeds since 2020, and is just about managing to maintain a single-figure handicap. He likes to remind people that he once broke 75, but won’t tell people that it was on a shortened course during the winter.
He moved to Leeds after graduating from the University of Central Lancashire with a First Class Honours degree in Sports Journalism. Matt joined NCG after almost five years travelling the world with the Professional Squash Association, working on events in all four corners of the globe.
Matt currently plays a Cobra King LTDx driver and RadSpeed 3-wood. TaylorMade monopolise the rest of his bag, with a SIM UDI, M5 irons and both Milled Grind and HI-TOE wedges, along with a Monza Redline putter. He uses a Vice Pro Plus golf ball, because he’s a bit different…
Away from golf, Matt is a Manchester United fan, and a keen runner, having ran the Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon (his first and possibly last), in May 2023.
