Rory McIlroy at Players Championship 2016: Thursday Leaderboard Score, Reaction

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at Internationaled.org

Published: May 12, 2016

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Despite not winning a competitive golf tournament in nearly a full year, Rory McIlroy entered this week's Players Championship as the odds-on favorite. If Thursday's first round is any indication, that may have been a grave overestimation.

McIlroy carded an even-par score of 72, which puts him nine strokes behind leader Jason Day. The world No. 1 carded a nine-under 63 and holds a two-stroke lead over the field. Day had nine birdies without a single bogey in a near-flawless round. 





McIlroy, meanwhile, spent his day barely keeping his head above water. He parred 14 of the 18 holes on a day where more than half the field turned in under-par scores. The world's third-ranked golfer sits in 82nd place, sharing residence with a disappointed Jordan Spieth.

For the most part, McIlroy's round was spectacular in how bland it was. His irons and drives were fine for most of the day. He hit 64.3 percent of his greens in regulation and 61.1 percent of his fairways. On most days, McIlroy would have turned numbers like that into a solid under-par day.

Unfortunately, McIlroy couldn't find his way on the putting surface. He had opportunities to card an under-par score from the green on 10 different holes. On the par-five ninth, McIlroy three-putted from inside 10 feet.

There's also the whole matter of McIlroy not capitalizing on a good driving day. While most fans will point to his ailing putter—a long-standing flaw in McIlroy's game—his approaches weren't good. It's almost anomalous for McIlroy to be long and accurate off the tee and not end up somewhere in the 80s in greens in regulation. 

Kyle Porter of CBS Sports and Kevin Van Valkenburg of ESPN highlighted McIlroy's deficiencies on the approach:





There were only four holes of note on the day for McIlroy. After starting his day with four pars, he carded a bogey on No. 5....
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Golf

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