Rory McIlroy has been chasing the dream of lifting his fifth Major for ten years. Since he lifted the PGA Championship in July 2014, the Northern Irishman has been immersed in a continuous fight with history to try to add Majors to his backpack.
However, if there is something that Rory almost always shows, it is the ability to get up after adversities. Time and time again he has been able to get his head out of the hole after being on the verge of winning a Major and not doing so. The resilience of the boy from Holywood is striking. He falls and gets up again and again.
This Thursday, McIlroy has done it again in Scotland. At the start of the Genesis Scottish Open he has signed a card of 65 strokes that have put him fully in the fight for the trophy from the first moment. Rory arrived at the tournament with the shadow of the US Open looming in everyone’s head. In everyone’s but his own, even though the start was not the best with two birdies and two bogeys in the first six flags. It pointed to a round in pure Rorylandia style, but it was not like that. He has found his game and the calm not to make any more mistakes for the rest of the round. Five under par in the last twelve holes thanks to three birdies and a beautiful chip that has rolled falling from left to right for a great eagle.
Rory not only gets up, but he does so quite quickly. There is a fact that helps to understand the magnitude of what has been stated. Since 2014, the world number two has accumulated ten top 5s in Majors. Ten times in which he has been really very close to winning another Major. Well, looking at the first rounds of the tournaments that follow those ten top 5s, there is a fact that leaves you open-mouthed: Rory has played those first rounds after the ‘failures’ with an average of 67.4 strokes. A barbarity. There is no margin for lament.
Of those ten tournaments mentioned, in nine he has played under par. Only after the 2016 Open did he play over par with a card of 74 strokes. Since then, Rory has always played under par after the Majors slipped away: 67, 65, 68, 68, 67, 62, 70, 68 and 65. It’s not that he gets up immediately, he jumps with both legs.
At The Renaissance Club McIlroy has shown that what he said yesterday in the press room is true and that the experience of Pinehurst was going to help him continue to grow. No one has successfully defended the Scottish Open in the previous 46 editions. We will see if McIlroy is able to turn the data around.
Not only Rory has shone at the start of the Scottish Open. The best of the morning shift have been Haotong Li and Maximiliam Kieffer who with cards of 64 strokes have placed themselves at the top of the tournament. Tied with Rory are, among others, Tommy Fleetwood, Corey Conners or the recent winner on the PGA Tour, Davis Thompson.
Three of the seven Spaniards have been part of the first shift: Alex del Rey (-1), who entered the tournament at the last minute, has signed the best result of the Armada with 69 strokes. He is closely followed by Adri Otaegui with a round of PAR and one stroke behind, Nacho Elvira (+1) who started with 71 strokes.
