Rory McIlroy ready to show he's the daddy again after super start to US Open

Strong start: McIlroy is two shots off the leader after the opening round
AP
Matt Majendie @mattmajendie18 September 2020

Following the birth of his daughter, Poppy, Rory McIlroy said parenthood would make the harder days on the golf course easier to take.

After making relatively light work of a notoriously tough Winged Foot, the 31-year-old Ulsterman knows the United States Golf Association will tighten up and toughen up the course for the remaining three days.

But on day one — the day when he has traditionally struggled at the Majors — McIlroy finally got the fast start he had so craved with a three-under-par round of 67, which left him two shots off leader Justin Thomas.

One of the late starters on day two, McIlroy said: “At a US Open, if you can get off to a good start, you’re not chasing as much.

“And when you chase on US Open golf courses, you can start to make mistakes and compound your errors.

“To have that sort of cushion, to be a little bit more relaxed about your play, not take on too much, be able to still play conservative golf, I think that’s important here.

“I’ve maybe been putting myself under a little bit too much pressure to get off to a good start.”

Three of his four birdies came on the course’s par-threes but, with only one dropped shot all round, he still came off the court with the mentality, “I could have been a couple of shots lower”.

Prior to lockdown, McIlroy had been the world’s form golfer, virtually omnipresent in the top five of every tournament.

Since golf’s return, however, he has languished in the lower reaches of leaderboards before a timely return to form in finishing eighth at the preceding Tour Championship, his first as a father.

How much of a boost parenthood had been to his game, McIlroy was unclear, but he credited his driver for the improved scoring.

“Obviously, that’s a really good start and I played the par-threes really well. I drove the ball better and put the ball in play much more today than I have done in the previous few weeks,” he said.

“Hopefully, I can keep that going over the next three days, and that’s what you need to do around here, just keep it in the short stuff, and then the greens are receptive enough where you can give yourself some chances. I took a couple of my chances today.”

Tellingly, McIlroy’s score of 67 was his best opening at a US Open since Congressional in 2011, where he dominated the field to win by eight strokes come the final day.

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