Rory McIlroy was pleased with the way he overcame an early setback to remain in contention after the first round of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Ohio.Masters champion McIlroy is playing only his sixth regular PGA Tour event of the year at the tournament which is hosted by 18-time major winner Jack Nicklaus.
He went into the water at the third for a double-bogey after pushing his approach shot right, but responded with a run of three birdies from the fifth to reach the turn at one under.
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A hooked tee shot off the 13th put the 37-year-old out in the deep rough on the left, but a fine recovery saw him able to save par, before a superb approach inside two feet at the 14th set up another birdie.The 18th saw the world No 2 hit another wayward tee shot off into the left rough, narrowly missing the water, before looking to get up and down. However, he just failed to roll in a seven-foot putt to save his par and signed for a one-under 71.
“I felt like I played pretty well, for the most part,” McIlroy said. “Especially after making that double on the third hole, to play the rest of the round in three under was good.
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Rory McIlroy splashes out of a bunker on his way to a one-under 71 at Muirfield Village
“I’ve made plenty of double-bogeys in my career, and I’ve made plenty of double-bogeys in tournaments that I’ve won. So you play enough events, you learn to ride the highs and the lows and not get too excited or too down either way.
“It’s a tough course. You have to concentrate on every shot. The greens are very firm already, very fast. Get yourself above the hole, it’s very tricky.”I would like to hit a few more fairways, give myself a few more chances from the short grass, but overall, not a bad score to build from.”Fleetwood shares first-round leadEnglishman Tommy Fleetwood made a strong start with a flawless five-under 67, featuring birdies at the first, third, fifth, ninth and 15th holes, to share the lead after the first round despite admitting to not playing at his best.”I…
2026-06-04 21:00:00
