Rory McIlroy produced a superb late birdie burst to remain inside 4 strokes of the lead after a low-scoring opening spherical on the Genesis Scottish Open.
McIlroy birdied every of his final three holes to card a two-under 68 on the Renaissance Membership, as 4 gamers shared the early lead on the occasion co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour.
Ryder Cup team-mate Sepp Straka carded a six-under 64 to high the leaderboard alongside Jake Knapp, Nico Echavarria and Victor Perez, with Scotland’s Calum Hill and England’s Marco Penge among the many quartet a stroke again in tied-fifth.
Viktor Hovland and former US Open champion Wyndham Clark have been within the group two off the lead and world No 1 Scottie Scheffler opened with a three-under 67, as 32 gamers have been separated by simply three strokes after the opening day.
McIlroy was joined on two below by defending champion Robert MacIntyre and two-time main winner Xander Schauffele, who will look to defend his title at The Open subsequent week, whereas US Open champion JJ Spaun and Tommy Fleetwood each posted level-par 70s.
Joint-leader Knapp, who’s making his first look on the Scottish Open, stated: “I undoubtedly cannot complain! Bought a couple of putts to fall early.
“Got one to fall, which I wasn’t expecting to go in. So it’s always nice when you can have something like that to get the round started.”
How McIlroy made robust end to opening day
McIlroy – the 2023 champion – made a three-putt bogey on the par-four first and adopted a long-range two-putt birdie on the par-five third with a dropped shot on the fifth, the place he holed from eight ft to restrict the injury to a bogey.
The Masters champion responded by making a close-range birdie on the ‘stadium gap’ par-three sixth, though was over par for the event when a run of pars was ended when he discovered the green bunker off the tee and bogeyed the fifteenth.
McIlroy began his swashbuckling end by tapping in on the par-five sixteenth, having come shut along with his eagle try, then adopted a 25-foot birdie on the par-four seventeenth by rolling in from 20 ft for one more on the par-four final.
The main three gamers – not already exempt – who make the minimize this week will qualify for The 153rd Open at Royal Portrush.
“I definitely finished the round better than I started it. It felt like it was a bit of a slow start,” stated McIlroy.
“I think when you come back over here, links greens, they’re a lot slower than what we’re used to. So 3-putt on 1, and then did well, but then 3-putt 2nd as well. So that got me off and running. Then I felt like I played some good golf after that.
“Clearly completed nice. I struggled a bit in left-to-right wind. Proper-to-left winds I used to be okay with. However appeared just like the holes I bought myself in bother was when the wind was to the left. One thing to attempt to work on over the following three days.”
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