Rory McIlroy isn’t immune to pain, not even in his adopted second home.
At this week’s PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club in western New York, the home territory of his wife Erica, McIlroy has assumed the spotlight.
His body, though, hasn’t been quite right the past few days. He had a 22% recovery rate on his fitness-tracking watch when he awoke on Thursday morning, and his skin temperature was 3.5 degrees higher than usual, he stated.
Not the best preparation for competition at Oak Hill, and a 3-over opening 10 holes wasn’t great either.
But occasionally all it takes is a single second to start a week.
On the second par-4, his 11th hole of the day, McIlroy sank a 37-footer for par from behind the green. His ball went up a steep bank before flattening out on the putting surface and dribbling into the cup. He claimed that it was the turning point in his round because he recovered to shoot a 1-over 71.
“It was enormous. I might consider that shot to have been the pivotal moment of the week depending on what transpires over the next three days and what I do after that.” McIlroy stated about his No. 2 par save.
Although he is five shots behind morning wave leader Bryson DeChambeau, he is still very much in the competition. This is on the condition that McIlroy will begin to feel better.
Perhaps the assistance from the community kept him going.”I thought I slept well last night and I’m fighting something, but when I check my fitness monitoring watch, it says 22% recovery. However, I feel better today than I did yesterday, so as long as I drink enough water and get some rest, I should be good.” he said.
In fact, as the last few holes approached, I began to see a few better golf strokes.
“I aced the third hole with an excellent 6-iron and the fourth hole with two excellent strokes. I hit a good iron into the sixth hole. Excellent wedge shot into the eighth hole. There were a few rays of hope that came through at this point.” he continued.
In regulation, McIlroy, an Oak Hill member, made 11 of 18 greens and two of 14 fairways. He said with a chuckle, “He’s used to hitting it out of the rough, and his natural ability to play from the long grass could prove advantageous. The majority of players in the field will eventually come into the rough due to the hard terrain and sloped fairways.
“I’ve always been in control of rough terrains. This week, I have a slight advantage over some of the other players because I’ve always been able to get steep on the course, have a little bit of speed, and possibly smash a few additional clubs out of lies,” stated McIlroy, who has won the FedEx championship three times and is the third-ranked player in the world.
After some previous setbacks, his first round was a positive start. He missed the Masters cut due to a second-round score of 77, and at the three-time champion’s Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow, he placed T47. “Re-closure was moving a little too quickly, which caused me to grab hold of it and notice how the miss was beginning to spread both ways, particularly near Quail Hollow,” he said.
It was a very challenging game and he couldn’t wait to head to the range after the round. His score nevertheless places him in the top half of the field.
Perhaps the assistance from the community kept him going.
After meeting Bills quarterback Josh Allen, a fan of McIlroy, at Oak Hill on Wednesday afternoon, the adopted Buffalo Bills fan was greeted with “Go Bills!” chanting just one day later.
On Thursday, McIlroy orchestrated his own second-half comeback. He completed his final seven holes in 2-under after saving par in time. He is also still keeping his hopes of earning a fifth major title alive.
