Waste Management: Rory McIlroy recovers after brutal start

No one likes to start their round with a double bogey. Even if you are a 25 handicap, you still hope to get started with a par, or at worst, a bogey. Unfortunately for Rory McIlroy, that wasn’t the case during his opening round at the Waste Management Open.

It seemed like Rory was potentially trying to drive the green on the 10th hole, his first of the day, but he pulled it well left, and ended up in the native grass. From there, he would hit into a greenside bunker. If, like me, you were thinking to yourself “hmmm, a greenside bunker. not a big problem. I bet he gets up and down. It’s Rory.” Well, you would’ve been wrong, just like I was.

He chose not to have Xander Scahuffele mark his ball, which was close to his in the sand. I don’t know if it got into Rory’s head, but he bladed it over the green, and into a separate greenside bunker. The next bunker play wasn’t great either, as he found himself about 15 feet away. He would two-putt from there.

Rory McIlroy opened the Waste Management with a double-bogey. Ouch.

It seemed like we might be facing a rough day for Rory, which was further exemplified on the next hole when his drive leaked right, and he had to punch out onto the fairway, sitting 127 yards away, needing to go up and down for par. He stuck it close, but would miss the eight-footer, following the double-bogey with a bogey, and was now +3 through just two holes.

There’s a reason Rory McIlroy is one of the greatest players on the course, and he would show that over the next 14 holes.

A birdie on the par-5 13th was highlighted by a 350+ yard drive, and a long look at eagle, which he would leave short before making the birdie. He would score again on the next par 5 at the 15th, this time sticking his approach to 5 feet and making the birdie. His best putt of the day would come on the next hole, a par 3, where he would drain a 32-footer to get back to even.

He would show off the putting prowess again on the par-4 2nd hole, draining a 24 footer for birdie. Showing that he was enjoying the par-5’s, he would bomb another drive, and then find himself with a 50-footer for a look at eagle. He left it two feet out, and would tap-in for birdie, getting to -2 after the awful +3 start.

It fell apart a bit on his second to last hole of the day, when he left his approach short and left of the hole by 30 yards. He had a chance to save par, but missed his ten-footer by one foot, and tapping in for bogey.

When all is said and done, Rory came back wonderfully from his awful start and is in a decent spot at -1 heading into the second round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open.