He waits, driving iron in hand, as one minute becomes three, then five. Enough time for the moment to grow even bigger. And for memories to flicker spitefully back to life.
Finally the call comes. “This is game number 46. On the tee from Northern Ireland, Rory McIlroy.”
There is a nod of acknowledgment. A few encouraging cries of “Goo-wan Rory”. But mostly the vast crowd is silent, nervous, mumbling its prayers.
They know. He knows. Even if what happened the last time McIlroy stood here, on the opening day of the 2019 Open, is a subject to tiptoe around. The angsty swipe of a two-iron. The ball hurtling towards the out-of-bounds. The six cries of ‘sit, sit!’ The quadruple bogey eight.
As in 2019, there is a right-to-left wind off the 1st tee, and out-of-bounds on the left and right. It looks eerily familiar. But McIlroy stays in the present. He looks up four times before the club is finally swung and the ball hit. But, as he picks up his tee, takes massive gulps of relief.
It is not a great shot, in truth. It’s left and in the shrubbery. But it is safe. And on a 420-yard hole that has already caused 25 bogeys, four double bogeys, and a seven by the time McIlroy tees off at 3.10pm, that is a result.
The Northern Irishman’s second is steered to the back of the green, leaving him a difficult up and down from 70 feet. The first putt is excellent. The second horrendous. And McIlroy walks away with a bogey five.
Still, on the bright side. he is already three shots better than he was at this stage in 2019. What happens on the 1st hole turns out to be a harbinger of what is to follow over the next five hours and 51 minutes.
There are too many loose drives. Too many hooks and cries of fore left. But McIlroy is able to hold it together – with the help of a lucky bounce here and there – before finishing with a flourish.
And when he makes his final putt of the day, shortly after 9pm, he is able to sign for a one-under par 70 which is nine shots better than his opening round in 2019.
But it was often a hard slog, in front of a hugely expectant crowd. When McIlroy and his playing partners, Justin Thomas and Tommy Fleetwood, walked to the par-five 2nd, the crowd was sometimes 10 deep in places.
Those watching on the 2nd hole saw a repeat of McIlroy’s shot on the first, only this time his drive went 40 yards left of the fairway. No wonder he looked deeply annoyed as he walked towards the ball. And not even the marshal telling him “We got it” soothed his mood.
Yet McIlroy got out of the thick stuff, and then sent his third to 15 feet before making birdie. Suddenly he was smiling, chatting to Thomas, at level par and looking good.
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It helped too that the conditions were improving by the minute. The morning deluge had given way to sunny skies, the course was soft and receptive, the wind looked to have died down to boot.
And, when McIlroy sank a 30-footer for birdie at the 5th and another at the 7th and 10th he was at two under par and the morning leaders’ score of four under looked in sight.
The problem was that his driver was continuing to wildly misbehave. When another one went astray at the 8th, he had missed all six fairways. Eventually it was to catch up with him with bogeys at 11, 12 and 14.
When the Masters winner drives well, his game has an effortless flow to it. But when it is misfiring, he often becomes a raggedy genius, alternating between the squeamish and the sublime.
But he was able to dig deep in the closing holes, with his approach on the 17th proving his shot of the day. Once again he had driven it way left. Only this time he not only could not see the flag stick but was in malicious rough. Yet not only did he get it out, but a fortuitous bounce left him with a 15-footer for birdie.
When he made it, you could hear the cheers from the clubhouse. There was nearly another birdie on the last, but while that slipped by, McIlroy looked happy enough as he walked off the 18th.
He knows it wasn’t a great day. But he is three shots behind the leaders and still very much in the hunt.
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