Rory McIlroy's critical words for his father's play - "He didn't play very well at all"

Rory McIlroy's celebrity partner at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship's opening round was his father, Gerry. The Irishman shot three under par in the opening round, so he thought there was room for improvement. As for his father, he was sure the 64-year-old man could do better.

McIlroy was asked about playing with his father, and he said via ASAP Sports:

"He didn't play very well at all. He bettered me by two, which was nice, but there's definitely room for improvement there for both of the McIlroys. Lovely to be out here with him. We've done this a few time before."

McIlroy is already two under par through 11, so there has been some slight improvement. He went on to say that he was looking forward to another round with his father.

"It's his 65th birthday on Saturday. So to be able to stroll around the Old Course with him on the 65th is going to be a pretty cool occasion. Delighted to be out here with him, and hopefully we can make a few more birdies tomorrow."

The McIlroys were paired with Johann Rupert, the tournament's chairman, and Louis Oosthuizen, one of 14 LIV Golf players who were added to the field in various ways by Rupert.

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Rory McIlroy reflects on his opening round at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship

Carnoustie is a notably difficult golf course to play, and Rory McIlroy and his father had to experience that first-hand on Thursday.

Rory McIlroy opened up on his first round of golf (Getty)

Following the conclusion of his first 18 holes, McIlroy said he was "a bit slow to get out of the blocks." He added via ASAP Sports:

"I actually played very nice on our front nine, which is the back nine. Missed a lot of opportunities, and then maybe a little scrappier on the back. But yeah, overall, it was a perfect day to play Carnoustie. I probably didn't quite take advantage of the conditions the way that I wanted to or should have but yeah, a solid round and something to try to build upon tomorrow at Kingsbarns."

McIlroy said he's looking forward to Kingsbarns. He acknowledged it was nice to get Carnoustie out of the way early, adding that he and his father had ideal conditions to take on that course. He added:

"I feel like I could have taken advantage of it a bit more. But yeah, Kingsbarns, a course here, if you do get decent conditions. Obviously historically, there's been a lot of low scoring."

Rory McIlroy's goal for the day is to shoot well below par to continue climbing the leaderboard. Presently, he is nine shots back of the lead.