Rory McIlroy started the Amgen Irish Open at The K Club with a bitter taste. The Northern Irish golfer, aged 36, handed in a scorecard of 71 strokes, just one under par for the course, after losing two strokes in his last three holes, which he attributed to the referees’ decision to put his group on watch for slow play.
“Honestly, I felt a bit rushed out there during the last 12 holes,” admitted the reigning Masters champion. “We were put on the clock quite early, then the first official left, and later we were back on the clock during the last three holes to try to make up time,” explained Rory, who always approaches this DP World Tour tournament with special excitement and ambition.
McIlroy, who was playing alongside Thriston Lawrence and Kristoffer Reitan, stated that the circumstances his group faced were not the same as for other players: “It’s tough because you feel rushed. You’re playing difficult holes and our group has to deal with much more than any other group on the course.” He also lamented that it’s a common occurrence: “It’s understandable that we lose time. And I feel that every time I come back to Europe or play in these types of top player groups, we’re always put on the clock for that reason. So I got a bit frustrated in the last holes because I feel it always happens.”
The Northern Irishman believes the referees should be more flexible in this regard: “I don’t think they use common sense in that, of course, we’re going to lose ground because we have to wait for the crowd and the two cameras following us. There’s much more going on with our group than with the others, and sometimes I feel they should give us a bit of leeway and use a bit of common sense.”
Despite everything, he positively assessed the level of play he had shown on the course, except, of course, for that end of the round which ended up distancing him more than he expected from the leading positions: “Everything was pretty good. I think if I had made par on the last three holes, I would have felt quite satisfied with the round. But letting two strokes slip away there was a bit disappointing, although I’m encouraged by how I played and some of the shots I saw.”
