Rory McIlroy endured a frustrating opening day at the 154th Open Championship, carding a two-over 72 at Royal Birkdale after battling inconsistent putting throughout his first round. Despite driving the ball impressively and creating numerous scoring opportunities, the Northern Irishman was unable to capitalize, leaving himself work to do heading into Friday.
The two-time Open champion pointed to the condition of the greens as one of the biggest challenges after his round. McIlroy said varying surfaces made it difficult to judge pace, contributing to several costly missed putts. “I felt like they were very inconsistent,” he said. “Some parts of the greens are still alive and growing and other parts have went really dead.”
Rory McIlroy Questions Royal Birkdale Greens After Opening Round
GettyRory McIlroy of Northern Ireland
McIlroy began steadily with three consecutive pars before his putting troubles emerged.
Although he drove the ball exceptionally well throughout the afternoon, he finished the day ranked near the bottom of the field in strokes gained putting after missing several short opportunities.
Reflecting on his performance, McIlroy first highlighted the positives.
“I drove the ball incredibly well,” he said.
“I took the golf course on off the tee. Obviously with the positions that I put myself in off the tee, I feel like I obviously should have shot a better score.”
He also felt he handled many of Royal Birkdale’s toughest holes well.
“Played the hard holes well. Birdied 13, 15 and 18 on the back.”
However, McIlroy said the greens created significant challenges early in the round.
“The two bogeys on the par-5s wasn’t great and I struggled the first two holes to get the speed of the greens.”
“I felt like they were very inconsistent, just because some parts of the greens are still alive and growing and other parts have went really dead.”
He compared the conditions to another major championship venue.
“It sort of reminds me a bit of Pebble Beach when Pebble Beach gets like that for a U.S. Open. It’s just hard to judge the speed sometimes.”
Despite the mistakes, McIlroy kept himself within reach of the leaders by responding with timely birdies.
“Every time I made a stupid mistake, thankfully I made a birdie to sort of keep myself in it.”
Looking ahead to the second round, he remained optimistic.
“Not too far away. Hopefully we’ll get the better conditions tomorrow and maybe the greens are a little bit smoother in the morning.”
Rory McIlroy Explains Putting Struggles at The Open Championship
GettyRory McIlroy of Northern Ireland
McIlroy said the biggest issue was not simply missing putts but losing trust in his reads after several early misses.
He explained that once confidence begins to fade on the greens, it becomes increasingly difficult to commit to each stroke.
“I feel like I missed a couple early on that looked like they were going to break one way and they actually went another way.”
“And then when you get the next one, you’re over it and it’s just very hard to trust that the ball is going to do what you think it’s going to do.”
“Then you maybe don’t make quite as committed of a stroke.”
McIlroy added that one missed putt often led to another.
“It seems like when it gets like that on a day like today, you just keep leaving yourself four-footers.”
He noted that after converting a tap-in birdie on the ninth hole, he missed three short putts over the next several holes.
“Then I missed three four-footers in the space of four holes, and that’s tough.”
“It’s tough to get out of that and stay committed to what you’re trying to do on the greens.”
While McIlroy struggled to find rhythm with the putter, defending champion Scottie Scheffler opened with a two-under 68 to position himself firmly in contention. Surprise leader Jackson Suber, playing his first Open Championship and his first links event, posted an impressive five-under 65 to take the outright lead after the opening round.
McIlroy, meanwhile, closed with a birdie on the 18th to limit the damage and remains hopeful that improved morning conditions in Round 2 will allow him to climb back into contention before the weekend.
Rory McIlroy Slams Open Championship Course Conditions After Struggling Round 1