The frustration felt by Rory McIlroy, who dropped two shots late on in his opening round, was short-lived.
For, in truth, regardless of those late back-to-back bogeys, the world number one – who opened with a three-under-par 67 that left him in a three-way tie of the first round lead, before a storm rolled in to halt play with nine players with unfinished business – jumped straight into contention in the BMW Championship at Cherry Hills Golf Club in Denver, Colorado.
With his eyes firmly set on the $10 million bonus payout that ultimately awaits the winner of the FedEx Cup playoff series, McIlroy – second in the standings heading into Denver and with a gilt-edged chance to move to the head of affairs going to next week’s Tour Championship in Atlanta – took advantage of the high altitude in the Rockies to add yet further distance to his booming drives as he manoeuvred into a share of the lead with Gary Woodland and Jordan Spieth.
It could have been even better for the 25-year-old Northern Irishman, as he suffered two late bogeys – on the seventh and eighth, his 16th and 17th of the opening round – where he was in bunker trouble.
“I am a little frustrated, I feel like it should have been better than what it finished,” admitted McIlroy after his round, describing his bogey on the seventh as “sloppy.”
He added: “Then, to make bogey on eight after that I was a bit frustrated. As you can see from the scores, it is a bit tricky out there, low scores aren’t too easy to come by. 67 is still a good score, even though it could have been a bit better ... it’s a little bit like a US Open [set-up].”
Woodland went further, comparing the greens – which firmed up – to concrete.
Having turned in two-under in a bogey-free front nine that yielded birdies on the 12th and 17th holes, McIlroy moved into the lead on four-under with birdies on the first – where he hit a drive of 348 yards to finish in greenside rough, pitched to 15 feet and rolled in the putt – and the second, where he holed an 18 footer from off the green.
McIlroy has made a point of targeting this year’s playoffs. “I really want to cap off this summer as best as I can,” said McIlroy, who admitted to feeling “a little tired” and of trying to conserve energy after a busy and hugely successful playing schedule in recent months.
As if to reaffirm his intent, McIlroy made it a hat-trick of birdies on the third hole where, after hitting a three-wood on the driveable Par 4 hole of 332, he pitched to five feet and sank the putt to move to five-under on his round through 12 holes and, at that point, two shots clear of his nearest pursuers.
Unfortunately for McIlroy, he failed to keep that momentum going.
Although he produced a great par save on the fifth, getting up and down from thick rough where he holed a 10-footer, he found bunker trouble on both the seventh and eighth holes in suffering back-to-back bogeys that dropped him back to three-under.
On the ninth, his closing hole, McIlroy found a fairway bunker off the tee but managed to save par.
Graeme McDowell, returning to tournament action after missing last week’s Deutsche Bank championship due to the birth of his baby girl, was one of nine players who failed to complete their opening rounds.
McDowell was three-over through 17 holes when the siren sounded to halt play.
