McIlroy finishes first round with a flourish at Open for 71

Associated Press

SANDWICH, ENGLAND

For the first time in 11 months, Rory McIlroy walked off the 18th green in the early stages of a major championship and did not see his name atop the leaderboard.

That’s how good he has been at golf’s biggest events.

And the way he rallied from a rugged start Thursday in the British Open, McIlroy didn’t think his 1-over 71 was all that bad.

“Anywhere around even par was a good start,” McIlroy said.

Facing enormous attention coming off his wire-to-wire win at the U.S. Open last month, McIlroy made a few key putts in the middle of his round to steady himself against a stiff breeze at Royal St. George’s.

He was six shots behind Thomas Bjorn, who played extraordinary golf in the tougher morning conditions of wind and some rain, and English amateur Tom Lewis, who took advantage of better conditions in the afternoon.

Trailing by any margin can only be considered a strange spot for McIlroy based on his recent history. He has been in the lead after seven of the last eight rounds in the majors, the exception being the 80 he shot in the final round at the Masters to lose a four-shot lead.

On the first hole, McIlroy went long and he rammed his long putt some eight feet past the hole and wound up three-putting for bogey.

Then came the par-3 third, where McIlroy got one of the wild, hard hops so often seen at Royal St. George’s and wound up in rough behind the green. The chip came out heavy, leading to another bogey. And his next tee shot went into deep grass in front of a large knoll.

McIlroy powered a short iron out and onto the green, hit a superb chip from well left of the green at No. 5 to five feet to save par, and before long was back in his comfort zone.

It helped being paired with Ricky Fowler, an American of the same age, same style of play and with a history of playing together despite being so young.

Fowler looked to be the better of the two on this day, but not so much at the end. Fowler stalled in his round of 70. McIlroy rallied for a 71, starting with a smart approach on the eighth hole that rode up a ridge and trickled back toward the hole to four feet away for birdie.

Equally important was the short, tricky par putt on the ninth.

For all the hype outside the ropes, McIlroy clearly felt at ease doing what he does best. He was in his element, flashing that smile to the gallery as he bobs along the fairway between shots.

“I felt the par on 4 was big, but the up-and-down on 5 from left of the green was big for me, got me into it.”