McIlroy’s home Open dreams crushed after opening tee shot goes awry

Spare a thought for Rory McIlroy, who could hardly have made a worse start in his bid to capture the Open Championship on home soil.
Expectations were high that the Northern Irishman might be able to pull off a famous victory in front of his home fans at Royal Portrush this week. After all, this is where he had famously broken the course record as a 16-year-old amateur back in 2005.
But he’d barely gotten started when his hopes were dealt a crushing blow.
It took just one shot for things to go terribly awry, as McIlroy hit his opening tee shot at the first out of bounds to the left. In actuality, his ball struck a female fan, connecting with the phone in her pocket and breaking it before rolling out of bounds.
Mini clip of Rory McIlroy going OB right out of the gates at the first: pic.twitter.com/pv61FWGA6I
— Nick Menta (@NickMentaGC) July 18, 2019
His second attempt stayed in play but sailed left and into the heavy rough where he was forced to take an unplayable lie.
The end result? A disastrous quadruple-bogey 8, which was quickly followed up with another bogey at the par-3 third after his tee shot bounced over the green and he failed to get up and down.
McIlroy showed some fight with birdies at the seventh and ninth to get it back to three over and stayed steady with a string of pars as he headed down the stretch, but there was much more trouble to come as conditions worsened in the afternoon.
At the par-3 16th, an absolutely brutal three-putt resulted in a double-bogey to undo all of his good work, and McIlroy found more trouble off the 18th tee before making a hash of his fourth shot as well, finding the deep rough right of the green to make a triple-bogey seven.
#Rory out here putting like me on the weekends #McILROY #TheOpen pic.twitter.com/7WH788YSbr
— Ronnie (@Westnile2) July 18, 2019
McIlroy finally departed the course having shot an eight-over-par 79 – the worst opening round of his major career – and it means his five-year wait for a fifth major title looks certain to continue, after another year of disappointing performances in golf’s big four.
“I would like to punch myself,” McIlroy said after his round. “I made a couple of stupid mistakes. I was pretty nervous on the first tee and hit a bad shot. I showed some resilience in the middle of the round and was trying to fight back into the championship but then I finished off poorly as well.
“But seven over par combined on the first and last holes makes it very hard for you.
“At the end of the day I play golf to fulfil my ambitions not anyone else’s but I wish I could have given the crowd something to cheer about,” he added.
“I let myself down more than anyone else and need to pick myself back up.”
Track the latest live scores from the 148th Open Championship by heading over to our LIVE score centre!
Latest
-
PGA Tour
Gareth Bale admits to nerves on debut at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-am
The 33-year-old, who announced his retirement from football last month, is a two-handicapper.
-
PGA Tour
Jordan Spieth wants Pebble Beach to become one of PGA Tour’s elevated events
The PGA Tour’s top players have committed to playing against each other at least 20 times a year.
-
PGA Tour
G4D Open is ‘great news’ for golfers with disabilities – Brendan Lawlor
Up to 80 players will contest the inaugural event in May.
-
PGA Tour
It’s been a battle – Rory McIlroy delighted to pip rival Patrick Reed in Dubai
The Northern Irishman birdied the final two holes at Emirates Golf Club to card a closing 68 and finish a shot ahead of Reed on 19 under par.
-
PGA Tour
Rory McIlroy holds off rival Patrick Reed with birdie on 18 to seal Dubai win
McIlroy birdied the final two holes at Emirates Golf Club to card a closing 68 and finish 19 under par.
-
PGA Tour
Rory McIlroy leads by three in bid to win his third Dubai Desert Classic title
England’s Callum Shinkwin and Dan Bradbury are McIlroy’s closest challengers heading into the final round.
-
LPGA Tour
Golf bid to increase diversity in sport improving but still has ‘long way to go’
Nicola Bennett is an ambassador for the Golf Foundation, helping to drive grassroots campaigns.
-
PGA Tour
Richard Bland boasts share of lead at halfway stage in Dubai Desert Classic
The 49-year-old returned to complete his second round on Saturday morning, carding three more birdies and a solitary bogey in his remaining 14 holes.
-
News
On this day in 2009 – Colin Montgomerie appointed Europe’s Ryder Cup captain
The Scot made eight playing appearances in the competition.
-
News
Rory McIlroy and Patrick Reed set up potential showdown in Dubai
McIlroy and Reed found themselves a shot behind world number one amateur Ludvig Aberg and Ian Poulter.