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PLAYERS: Rory McIlroy starts off miserably in title defense

By Christopher O'Day

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA - MARCH 11: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland plays his shot from the 17th tee during the first round of THE PLAYERS Championship on THE PLAYERS Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass on March 11, 2021 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA - MARCH 11: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland plays his shot from the 17th tee during the first round of THE PLAYERS Championship on THE PLAYERS Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass on March 11, 2021 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /
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Many thought that Rory McIlroy would head to the PLAYERS and put up a good fight as he tried to go back-to-back, even if it was 2019.

Now, Rory is going to be fighting to make the cut, and it doesn’t look very promising after one of the worst sides you will ever see him put together.

Rory McIlroy started on the 10th hole, and unfortunately for him, professionals don’t get breakfast balls. The first shot that he hit went left into a penalty area, and he would have to take a drop. He couldn’t even take a nice drop, as he was so far out that he had to slap it into the fairway. He went get it to 19 feet, and then two-putt to start with a double bogey.

The lone mistake over the next seven holes would be a three-putt on the par-3 13th hole, carding a bogey and sitting at +3. With few good scores early, he is definitely one of the players talented enough to put it together a little bit and find himself near even. Unfortunately, Rory McIlroy is also dealing with a bit of a swing issue.

Once he got to the 18th, Rory McIlroy pretty much ended his weekend, barring an incredible comeback.

Do you know what stinks? Hitting the ball in the water and having to take a drop about sixty yards ahead of the tee. Do you know what’s worse? Hitting that ball into the water as well. This is exactly what Rory McIlroy did on the par-4 18th hole, finding himself hitting his 5th shot from 208 yards away.

He ran it just onto the green, and was looking at a 53-footer for double bogey. To top things off, Rory would three-putt once again, and finishing with a quad bogey 8, sitting at +7 as he made the turn.

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He can’t figure out his game at all so far on the second nine, carding birdie-birdie-bogey-bogey-birdie through the first five holes. For Rory McIlroy to make the cut at the PLAYERS, he is going to need to find a lot more birdies, and avoid any of those blowup holes like he found today at the 18th.