Rory McIlroy shares thoughts on Carnoustie after shooting 69 at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship

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Rory McIlroy is off to a solid start at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship after carding a three-under 69 at Carnoustie.

The Northern Irishman made four birdies and dropped just one shot on his way to a three-under-par start, playing alongside his dad, Gerry.

Sky Sports pundit Andrew Coltart was disappointed with McIlroy’s wedge game, but overall, it was a good start for the four-time major winner.

Rory McIlroy shares thoughts on Carnoustie after day one of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship

Carnoustie, the Old Course at St Andrews, and Kingsbarns are the three iconic courses used this week. Speaking after his round, the 35-year-old shared his thoughts on Carnoustie and his opening-day efforts.

“Yeah, it was okay. A bit slow to get out of the blocks,” McIlroy said. “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, it’s a solid round and something to try to build upon tomorrow at Kingsbarns.”

McIlroy is at Kingsbarns on Friday before playing the Old Course with PIF chief Yasir Al-Rumayyan on Saturday.

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McIlroy is some way back of the lead on 11 under, and the four-time major winner is targeting a low round at Kingsbarns on Friday.

The Northern Irishman added: “So it’s nice to get Carnoustie out of the way. It’s a course, but I said we had perfect conditions for it. So 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.

“So you know, try to get out there tomorrow and shoot a low one and get myself into the tournament.”

South African Darren Fichardt leads after carding a stunning 11 under round on Friday at Kingsbarns, a score McIlroy will be looking to get near once Friday’s play has concluded.