GOLF:HE'S KNOWN by his peers in the locker room as "The Boy Wonder" and, these days, there is an ageless presence about Rory McIlroy. And, in shooting an opening round 64 – eight under par – in the BMW Championship at Crooked Stick in Indiana yesterday, the world number one took another step, seemingly inexorable at this key juncture of the play-offs, towards the $10 million bonus jackpot to whoever tops the US Tour's FedEx Cup series.
McIlroy seems to be taking it all in his stride, and step by step, his brilliance was again evident as he moved into a four-way tie for the lead. Just days after winning the Deutsche Bank Championship in Boston, the 23-year-old Ulsterman moved inland – where players utilised a “lift, clean and place” rule on the fairways after recent heavy rains left the course playing wet and heavy – and continued where he had left off on the East coast.
What’s more, McIlroy did it playing with Tiger Woods, who responded in style too in recording a 65. If there is a sense that the 13 year age gap is but a number, the developing rivalry between the two – albeit a friendly one with the pair smiling and joking when not having their game faces on – has certainly added appeal to the US Tour’s play-offs.
McIlroy, who started on the 10th, covered his front nine in 32 strokes with an eagle, three birdies and a bogey.
The eagle came on the 504 yards par-five 15th where he hit an approach of 192 yards to 10 feet and rolled in the putt. He secured birdies on the 10th (12 feet), 14th (six feet) and 18th (five feet) and the only dropped shot on that front run came on the short 13th where he missed the green with his tee shot.
On his homeward run, McIlroy collected further birdies on the first, fifth, eighth and ninth holes with an exhibition of iron play as he peppered the flags. Woods, too, played superbly and almost holed-out for an ace on the third only to see the ball hit the hole. He failed to make the five-footer left for birdie, to rub salt in.
Graeme McDowell holed out with his approach to the eighth, his 17th, for an eagle two from 155 yards and then appeared to make a birdie at the par-five ninth for what would have been a round of 66.
He subsequently learned it was a bogey for a 68 after he was handed a two-shot penalty for touching a leaf whilst playing a bunker shot on his closing hole.
“It’s a self-policing game but it hurts sometimes,” said McDowell in taking his medicine, deemed to have touched a loose impediment in a hazard.
Pádraig Harrington shot a two-under-par 70 and has a significant amount of work to do if he is to force his way into the top-30 players to move on to the Tour Championship in Atlanta in a fortnight’s time.
McIlroy’s 64 enabled him to join Webb Simpson, Bo Van Pelt and Canadian Graham DeLaet in a share of the clubhouse lead, a shot clear of Woods.
“I think the big key this week is hitting the ball in the fairway and hitting it a good distance out there,” said McIlroy. “Even though it is soft, you’re going to get a few mud balls and it’s going to be a little tricky in that regard, but yeah, it’s going to be another good week.”
Tee times for the second round have been moved forward due to the threat of thunderstorms in the area.
The marquee threeball of McIlroy, Woods and Nick Watney has a scheduled start time of 9.39 am (2.39pm Irish).
