McIlroy Off to Hot Start in Open Championship


Once again, Rory McIlroy came roaring out of the gate in a golf tournament. This time, the 25-year-old Northern Irishman fired a 6-under 66 to take the 18-hole lead in the Open Championship. The third of the year's four majors started Thursday at Royal Liverpool.

McIlroy, a two-time major champion, posted three birdies on each the front and back nines at Hoylake for a one-stroke edge over Italy's Matteo Manassero.

"It was pretty stress-free, to be honest," McIlroy said during a TV interview.

The big question for McIlroy is whether he can follow up such a fine start with a good round on the second day. Just last week in the Scottish Open he opened with a course-record-setting 64, but on Friday skied to a 78 and barely made the 36-hole cut.

He finished with a 68 and 67 at Royal Aberdeen to end up tied for 14th, nine shots behind winner Justin Rose. McIlroy had the same second-round woes earlier in the year after setting the pace with 63s at the Dubai Desert Classic and the Memorial Tournament, following those up with a 70 and 78, to finish T-9 and T-15, respectively.

"I focused too much on where I was on the leaderboard or where I was in the tournament instead of just going out and trying to play another solid round of golf," he said following his 78 last Friday.

On Tuesday McIlroy re-addressed the issue in which his cumulative score in 13 second rounds this year is 9-over par. "I may be putting a bit too much pressure on myself going out on Fridays and trying to back up a score," said McIlroy. "I have no problem shooting a low one on Thursday. There should be no reason I have any problem shooting a low one on Friday.

"It's something that I need to go out and pretend like it's a Thursday again and go out and just - I don't know."

After his 66 at Royal Liverpool, McIlroy said he was eager to return to the course. "It's a great way to start," he said. "Any time you shoot 66 at the Open Championship you're going to be pleased. We had perfect scoring conditions out there this morning. There wasn't much wind early on. There were plenty of opportunities to make birdies and I was able to take a few of them. I'm looking forward to getting back out there tomorrow."

Manassero said he played well because he enjoys the famed Hoylake layout. "I like [the course]. It's fair, flat, where you hit your shot it's going to roll on that line. If I ever win an Open, I don't think I'll win it on a golf course that I don't like. So the fact that I like it, it's already a good thing.

"The main preparation for the Open, I've done it in Aberdeen and it was just the best preparation I could've had," noted the 21-year-old, a four-time winner on the European Tour who finished tied for fourth six shots behind Rose in the Scottish Open. "We had strong wind, little wind, calm wind, different directions of wind and the course was firm. It was really linksy. I put myself in a very links frame of mind."

Two strokes behind McIlroy in a tie for third are Americans Jim Furyk and Brooks Koepka, the Italian brothers Edoardo and Francesco Molinari, Spain's Sergio Garcia, Ireland's Shane Lowry, and Australia's Adam Scott, the No. 1-ranked player in the world.

Scott's 68 was excellent, especially considering the winds really picked up later in the day. "It was definitely tougher out there this afternoon. The wind kicked up quite a bit," he said.

Tiger Woods got off a good start with a 3-under 69. After undergoing back surgery in late March and making his first start since the Quicken Loans Invitational at Congressional three weeks ago, where he missed the cut, on Thursday Woods carded six birdies and three bogeys - including two in his first two holes.

"I felt very calm" said Woods, a three-time British Open champion who's playing in his first major of the year. "Unfortunately, I got off to a horrific start. But I fought back."

Woods noted his back held up well in only his third round since the surgery. "The back is good," he said. "I'm only going to get stronger and faster."

Tied for 10th after 69s with Woods are Sweden's Robert Karlsson, Aussie Marc Leishman, Japan's Koumei Oda, Yoshinobu Tsukada and Hideki Matsuyama, and Americans Rickie Fowler, Jimmy Walker and Boo Weekley.

A total of 14 players had 2-under 70s - including 2010 Open champion Louis Oosthuizen, while another 16 recorded 1-under 71s. Among the latter group are 2009 British Open champion Stewart Cink, Masters' winners Charl Schwartzel and Zach Johnson, two-time heart-transplant recipient Erik Compton, England's Lee Westwood and reigning PGA Tour rookie of the year Jordan Spieth.

Other scores included even-par 72s by Rose, No. 2-ranked Henrik Stenson of Sweden, 2011 Open champion Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland and American Brian Harman, who earned a spot in the Open after winning last week's John Deere Classic; and 73s by five-time Open champion Tom Watson, 2001 Open winner David Duval and local favorites Ian Poulter and Luke Donald.

Defending champion Phil Mickelson carded two birdies, but four bogeys gave the 44-year-old, five-time major winner a 74.

The low amateurs after Round 1 are England's Ashley Chesters (70) and Taiwan's Cheng-Tsung Pan, a senior at the University of Washington in Seattle who shot a 74.

For complete scoring details, visit http://scores.theopen.com/en/Leaderboard.aspx.