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Rory McIlroy has had a below-expectations start to the 2024 PGA Tour season, with two T21 as his best finishes in four events. However, that start could be put behind him after an extraordinary first round at TPC Sawgrass.
The Northern Irishman shot a 65 to climb early to first place in THE PLAYERS Championship 2024. Rory McIlroy's performance included a record, as he became the fifth player to make 10 birdies in 18 holes in the event.
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Rory McIlroy started on the 10th hole and birdied the first three in a row. He then repeated birdies at the 14th, 16th and 17th to make the turn at 5 under 31 (he bogeyed the 18th).
Coming out, he birdied the 2nd, the 4th, the 6th and the 9th, but double bogeyed the 7th by sending his drive into the water and being forced to take a penalty stroke. He then missed a 12-foot putt for bogey, leaving his score for the round at 7 under.
With this performance, McIlroy came very close to equaling the course record (63), set by Fred Couples and later equaled by Greg Norman, Martin Kaymer, and Hideki Matsuyama.
McIlroy excelled with the putter as he recorded 3.56 in 'Stroke Gained: Putting'. However, his main weapon (ball striking) was lacking, with an average driving distance of 288 yards and negative numbers in 'Strokes Gained: Off the tee' (-1,136 ).
How the first round of THE PLAYERS Championship ended for Rory McIlroy
After the first round, Rory McIlroy went to the clubhouse in first place on the leaderboard, although he was not alone at the top. Xander Schauffele also finished his round at 7 under and tied the Northern Irishman for the lead.
Schauffele played his round bogey-free and with seven birdies, five of them in the back nine.
Nick Taylor occupies the third spot after finishing with a score of 6 under. Tom Hoge, Jason Day and Ludvig Aberg finished at 5 under and are tied for fourth.
However, the afternoon wave is yet to finish the round, so many of these positions may change. Corey Conners goes with a score of 4 under through 5th, while Tony Finau and Akshay Bhatia are at 3 under through 4th.
