Rory McIlroy endured a nightmare opening round at the BMW Championship and later looked to have to bit his tongue while answering a question about Scottie Scheffler
Rory McIlroy appeared to hold back while answering a question about Scottie Scheffler at the BMW Championship.
The world No. 2 endured a nightmare opening round in Maryland, carding a level par 70 at Caves Valley Golf Club, finishing the day eight shots behind leader Robert MacIntyre. It was made to look even worse by the fact he was partnered with world No. 1 Scheffler, who shot an opening 66.
At the time, McIlroy was asked whether the pressure of playing alongside this year’s PGA Championship and Open Championship winner played a role in his disappointing opening round. Coming to Scheffler’s defence, McIlroy admitted he always enjoys playing with the planet’s top golfer.
Yet, the Masters winner appeared to be on the verge of naming players he does not like playing with, before he seemingly checked himself and promptly ended his answer. When asked if there was any pressure of playing with Scheffler, McIlroy replied: “I love playing with Scottie.
“I always have. I like the cadence that he plays the game at. I like his rhythm. He doesn’t really take a ton of time. I feel like there’s guys that you like to get paired with, and there’s guys… some guys that you don’t. I’ve always enjoyed playing with Scottie.”
The pause he took suggested McIlroy was on the verge of perhaps listing a golf rival he was not a fan of being partnered alongside, before, understandably, thinking better of it.
Either way, it did little to make McIlroy feel better after his disappointing showing in the first round. When asked about his display, he said: “Awful. Yeah, I got off to a bad start. Sort of pieced it together a little bit in the middle of the round and clawed it back to even par.
“But drove the ball terribly. Then when you’re sort of hitting out of the rough from the fairway bunkers here, when I hit the fairways, I give myself chances. I need to hit more fairways the next three days.
The story was different for the 36-year-old on Friday. He raised his game significantly, carding a 66 which saw him record the first eagle of the week as well as three consecutive birdies on holes nine, 10 and 11.
While there was an improvement, he still held a lot of frustration. Reacting to his second round, McIlroy said: “I scored better, but still not great. I played a good back nine, scored well and made a few saves.
“I still want to hit a few more fairways, I’m still struggling to get the ball in play. When I do get the ball in play, I give myself plenty of chances and make some birdies. That’s a positive.”
McIlroy remains a huge 10 strokes behind MacIntyre, who followed up his incredible opening round of 62 with an impressive 64 to open his lead over closest competitor Scheffler to five.
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