Rory McIlroy will feel that he has got a lot of work to do if he is going to win the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship for the first time in his career after a decent opening round at Carnoustie on Thursday.
Rory McIlroy already finds himself eight shots back of the lead after his first round at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship after opening with a three under par round of 69 around Carnoustie.
Carnoustie does tend to be the most difficult of the three courses in which the field play over the first three days of this event – as highlighted by the fact that Jon Rahm was one of the only players in the top 15 after round one to begin his tournament on the Angus course. However, you will rarely get a better opportunity to take on Carnoustie, amid such calm conditions.
McIlroy made 14 pars and one bogey during his round, with the mistake coming on the fifth hole.
Rory McIlroy criticised during his opening round at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship
It is no secret that the Northern Irishman has had problems with his approach game this season. Few will forget the remarkable shot McIlroy hit from 93 yards at The Open at Royal Troon which missed the green by some distance to the left.
But perhaps the issues go back a lot further than that. Speaking on Sky Sports (broadcast on 3/10; 12:31), Andrew Coltart suggested that McIlroy’s disappointing wedge game has been costing him for too long as he made his bogey.
“I was just going to say it today, and I don’t want to say it again because I say it too often, but it needs to be said, he worries about the golf swing a little bit and some of the shots that he’s hitting, I think his choice of shots is wrong in a lot of instances when he’s got a wedge in his hand,” he said.
“That’s like a double bogey for him, that’s giving the rest of the field a couple of shots. I remember following him at The Open Championship which he finished just two shots by Molinari I think and in one round he had 13 shots into the greens here at Carnoustie with nothing less than a nine iron and didn’t get inside 20 feet and he lost by two. That was just in one round.”
What Northern Irishman needs to change in 2025
There has been so much to like about McIlroy’s game this season. He has won three times worldwide, while he has come so close to winning the US Open, the Irish Open and the BMW PGA Championship. McIlroy puts himself in contention so often that he is bound to come up short on occasions.
But there will certainly be a desire to get back to the drawing board over the winter. McIlroy suggested that he made some small changes after The Tour Championship, but you would imagine that much of the significant work will be done in the months to come.
It does not appear that he needs to reinvent the wheel, and his season would look completely different if he had played those final four holes at Pinehurst slightly differently. But clearly, there are a few boxes on the checklist which require attention if McIlroy is going to bounce back from the disappointing moments within 2024.
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