After weeks of buzz about Rory McIlroy and how he was certain to win the PGA Championship, his opening round at Quail Hollow was more than a little disappointing.
McIlroy carded a three over round of 74 to drop way down the field and sit 10 back of the early leader.
Tricky conditions which led to a number of mud balls made things difficult for McIlroy and others as they struggled to control ball flight and distance.
In the end, three over was probably not the end of the world for McIlroy, who will be looking for a much-improved second round to put himself somewhere in contention for the weekend.
However, McIlroy is no stranger to struggling at Quail Hollow in his opening round and he’ll be slightly worried after what happened back in 2011.
How Rory McIlroy performed after his previous worst round at Quail Hollow
The usual narrative around Rory McIlroy and Quail Hollow is how good his performances there have been over the years.
However, it’s not always been plain sailing for the world number two.
Back in 2011 at the Wells Fargo Championship, McIlroy had a stinker of an opening round as he carded a 75, before only managing a 72 in the second round.
Interestingly here, McIlroy actually missed the cut, the only time he’s missed the number in his entire career at Quail.
McIlroy will be desperate to avoid a repeat, and given his last three visits to the course have yielded two wins, it would be a huge shock to see him crash out.
Rory McIlroy has to find fairways to win the PGA Championship
This was not what we’ve been used to seeing from Rory McIlroy and he simply has to get better in the second round.
To do so, he needs to hit fairways and while that’s caused the issue of mud balls, it gives him a better chance of posting a better score.
McIlroy hit just four from 14 fairways and at a major championship, that is simply not good enough.
If McIlroy cannot improve on the above, then put simply, he is out of the PGA Championship.
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