Angry McIlroy loses his cool in PGA opener
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E-mail Shanghai Daily, May 25, 2012
A frustrated Rory McIlroy tossed his club to the ground in a fit of anger during his bogey-filled opening round at the PGA Championship in Wentworth, England, yesterday.
Making his first appearance in Europe in seven months, the top-ranked Northern Irishman made five bogeys and a double bogey in a 2-over 74 at Wentworth.
The low point of the round came on the par-5 12th when he hurled his club in despair following a poor provisional shot, which came after he had just sent his second narrowly out of bounds on his way to a bogey 6.
"It's pretty disappointing," said McIlroy, whose No. 1 ranking is under threat from Luke Donald this week. "I feel like I'm playing well, I just need to go out there and shoot a score."
He was six shots off the pace midway through the first round, continuing his poor run on the West Course. He has only one top-10 finish in four tournaments.
McIlroy said his club-throwing outburst on the 12th, one of four par 5s on the course, was simply a release of frustration.
"You think about the par 5s and you should be taking advantage there," he said. "Standing on the first tee, 3 or 4 under is the worst you should be shooting.
In fact, the par 5s weren't the problem - he eagled No. 4 and birdied No. 17. It was his putting that let him down, especially around the turn where he dropped four shots in five holes, culminating in the error-ridden showing on No. 12.
"I struggled with the pace of the greens," said McIlroy, who has had to adjust to the slowness of the putting surfaces as he is based in the United States.
His missed cut at The Players Championship two weeks ago was the first time he failed to make the weekend in 23 tournaments.
He had previously been on a consistent run of form, helping him to top the rankings for the first time in March thanks to a win at the Honda Classic and then again in April. On both occasions, he replaced Donald.
South Africa's Ernie Els gave his fellow professionals a lesson in how to play his course as he took an early lead.
Els, responsible for re-designing Wentworth's course over the last three years, finished his first round in 68.
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