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Rory McIlroy puts together a fantastic stretch en route to opening 66

By Christopher O'Day

ORLANDO, FLORIDA - MARCH 04: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland plays his shot from the 12th tee during the first round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by MasterCard at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge on March 04, 2021 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
ORLANDO, FLORIDA - MARCH 04: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland plays his shot from the 12th tee during the first round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by MasterCard at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge on March 04, 2021 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images) /
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It took Rory McIlroy a while to get going at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Once he got in the groove, oh boy was it a nice stretch.

Starting on the back nine, it seemed like a fairly pedestrian start for Rory. He birdies the two par-3’s, the 14th and 17th holes, before bogeying the 18th and making the turn at -1. Some short misses, up-and-downs, and an ugly chunk on the par-5 16th led to a roller-coaster style opening nine for Rory.

Once Rory McIlroy got to the 2nd hole, he would turn it on at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

You know what’s nice to put together during a round? Back-to-back birdies. It’s something that everyone out there looks forward to, knowing that it puts you in a great position, especially when the course can be a bit difficult, as many people are running into at Bay Hill.

You know what is much better than back-to-back though?

FIVE STRAIGHT BIRDIES!

That’s what Rory McIlroy was able to card, starting at the 2nd hole, which was his 11th of the day. Again, his third birdie came at a par-3, the only holes that he had birdied up to that point. The first two were putts from 13 and 15 feet, respectively. This time, he would knock it in from 55 feet!

The long game on the green stayed, as he made a 23-footer on the next hole. Then, with a 41-foot look at the par-5 4th hole, he would roll it inside two-feet, leaving himself a very nice tap-in birdie.

Tired of the long putts, he stuck it from 170 yards to just four feet on the par-4 5th hole, making his 4th straight birdie in the process.

Possibly one of the few on the tour that could try and fly it over the water on the par-5 6th hole, Rory elected to play it “safe” still launching it 325+ yards over the water into the fairway, leaving himself just shy of 200 yards to the green. He made it onto the green, and would two-putt for his fifth straight birdie, and now found himself all alone at the top of the leaderboard with three holes left to play.

The par-3 run of birdies, and his current run, would end on the par-3 16th, as he just missed the green, but salvaged a par after going up-and-down. He would finish with two more pars for a -6 66.

Next. Golf's Mount Rushmore. dark

Rory has a lot of golf to watch to see if he finishes the day where he finished his round, alone at the top of the leaderboard at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Watch for Corey Conners, amidst others, who are making a run at Rory as the opening round finishes up.