Can Rory McIlroy bounce back after a disastrous round 1 at Players Championship?

Rory McIlroy has had a disastrous opening round at The Players Championship. The Northern Irish golfer tied up at 118th position, 12 strokes behind the lead, Chad Ramey.

Ramey is leading the tally with a scoring deficit of eight, while McIlroy ended the first round at four. The 2019 Players Champion will be looking for some amazing shots in the second round to bounce back and take the lead at the tournament.

Over the years, at least one player has started with 76 or higher, has bounced back in the tournament, and made the cut. The best performance came from Jamie Lovemark in 2018. The star golfer started the first round at 76 and then ended up finishing for a 10-under 278 to settle at T17.

Rory McIlroy knows the mistakes he made in the opening round and will improve in the second round. He knows what he has to do to bounce back in the tournament.

Ice-cold Potter has pushed him out of The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Thursday's round. Rory could only make one putt longer than 4 feet in the opening round.

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"I could use my driver from last year"- Rory McIlroy decries driver change at The Players Championship

McIlroy opened the first round of The Players Championship at 76. It was his worst performance since The Masters 2021.

Rory McIlroy replaced his driver at the Genesis Invitational Open and went on to use the same at the 2023 Players Championship. Speaking about the new driver, he said:

"I went to that new driver in Riviera, and it’s just not, look, I wish I could use my driver from last year but I can’t just because if you use a driver for so long, basically it just wouldn’t pass the test. The more a club is used, the more it’s hit, the more springy the face becomes. These driver heads are so finicky, it’s hard to get one exactly the same. I’m obviously trying my best, trying to get something that’s as close to what I had last year. I have just struggled a little bit off the tee the last couple weeks.”

He went on to add:

“They were testing drivers at Riviera but I just didn’t even want to take the chance. I just was not comfortable knowing that it could fail. Doesn’t look good on me, doesn’t look good on TaylorMade."

McIlroy made a double bogey on the 10th hole that slipped the match out of his hand. In an interview, he opened up about his performance and said:

"When I turned I thought, OK if I can get myself back even par for the day it’d be all right,” he said. “I just couldn’t really get anything going. I hit it in the middle of the fairway on nine there and to make bogey is obviously very disappointing. I need to regroup and try to shoot a good one tomorrow and be here for the weekend."