Rory McIlroy produced a box office performance featuring left-handed putting and a flying clubhead to race into contention with an opening 67 in the BMW PGA at Wentworth.
While Shane Lowry also shot five-under to lie just two shots behind leader Matthew Baldwin, he couldn’t wrest protagonism from the world number three, who was a walking highlight reel.
After making four birdies in a row from the third, McIlroy missed a two-footer for par at the seventh, putted left-handed at the eighth after leaving himself no stance on the edge of a pond, then birdied the ninth to turn in 31 before making an extraordinary birdie at the 516-yard, par-five 12th.
He gave a nine-iron the full treatment from 191 yards but as it kicked down to eight feet, he wasn’t looking at the green but staring at the shaft in his hands after the clubhead detached on impact and caroomed down the fairway.
“I don’t think it’s ever happened to me before,” said McIlroy, who also birdied the 13th to get to five-under.
“Obviously a very weird feeling through impact. I looked up and the clubhead caught my eye instead of the golf ball. So I completely lost where the golf ball was… Fortunately, it didn’t impact the shot too much. But I got it repaired and had it back on 16. Thankfully didn’t need it for any of the holes in between.”
McIlroy didn’t make another birdie over the windy closing stretch and signed off with a bogey with a six after hitting his second out of bounds.
“Overall, probably a fair reflection of how I played,” he said. “Hopefully go out tomorrow and shoot something similar, a little lower, and have a real chance going into the weekend.”
Baldwin’s 65 gave him a one-shot lead over Dane Niklas Nogaard and Belgian Thomas Detry with Lowry and McIlroy in an 11-man tie for fourth with the likes of Robert MacIntyre and Matteo Manassero.
But while Lowry was pleased with his four-under back nine, he knows he’ll likely have to beat McIlroy to add to his 2022 title.
“I think if you’re going to win the tournament this week, if you finish ahead of him, you’ve got a great chance,” Lowry said.
Meanwhile, Leona Maguire insisted there was no rift and she has “a lot of respect” for European skipper Suzann Pettersen after she put “a tough couple of months” behind her and built on her Solheim Cup singles win by opening with a five-under 67 into the Kroger Queen City Championship in Cincinnati.
The Co Cavan star confessed on Sunday it was “a bitter pill to swallow” after she was benched by Pettersen for three of the opening four sessions in Europe’s 15½-12½ Solheim Cup defeat.
She said she had “a point to prove” in her 4&3 singles win over Ally Ewing after getting little in the way of explanation from Pettersen.
But after building on that momentum in Ohio last night, she denied she was sending another message to the captain
“No, me and Suzann are on very good terms,” Maguire said. “I have a lot of respect for her. She was a hero of mine growing up, and ultimately, it was her decision.
“Last week, she did what was best for the team, and I’d have been happy to sit out every match if it meant we’d have brought back the trophy last week.
“But I knew my game was in good shape, and showed that in the singles last week, and I’m just trying to finish off the season as strong as I can.”
Maguire made an eagle and five birdies to share fourth alongside the likes of world number one Nelly Korda, just two shots behind clubhouse leader Ashleigh Buhai and explained she was enjoying her golf again.
“I finished off, obviously, with a nice run on Sunday last week and it’s been a tough couple of months,” said Maguire, who won on the LET in London but also missed three of five cuts in the majors and fell ill at the Olympics.
“The last few months, I haven’t enjoyed my golf as much as I should have, and I think last week was just a reminder of how fun golf can be.
“I love the Solheim, and it’s nice to sort of have something to look forward to every two years and just try to build up the momentum from last week.”
In Alicante, Douglas’ Sara Byrne opened with two-under 70 on her professional LET debut in the €1 million La Sella Open.
She was tied for 17th, just two shots behind Italy’s Virginia Elena Carta, Germany’s Helen Briem and Finland’s Elina Nummenpaa, but Lauren Walsh and Olivia Mehaffey are in danger of missing the cut after 75s left them joint 89th.
At the First Stage of the DP World Tour Qualifying School at Donnington Grove, Niall Kearney was tied fourth on eight under with Paul McBride 13th on five-under heading into the final round.
They are inside the top 21 and ties (four under) who progress with Marc Boucher two-under and Robert Moran one-under.