He missed a 3-foot birdie on the last hole, but at nine-under par still led by two over Phil Mickelson, Justin Thomas and Ross Fisher. And after a 66, the American is in a five-man tie for fourth.
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The surprise eagle gave Rory the temporary lead at nine under.
Not only did McIlroy win the Deutsche Bank Championship and the Tour Championship (thus also winning the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup), he had solid tournament at the WGC-HSBC Champions (T4) and at the European Tour’s season-ending event in Dubai (T9).
Marcus Fraser took the leading Australian honours after day one with a 71 enough to share 28th at even par, while Sam Brazel (tied 61st) struggled to a 75.
John Rahm: “It was nearly an excellent round”. He had a bogey at 14 but then made birdie on three of his final four holes to keep McIlroy in his sights.
Johnson was playing alongside McIlroy and so had the best seat in the house as the Northern Irishman grabbed the advantage in stunning style on the par-four 14.
“The way the fans have welcomed us has been unbelievable”. “I feel good and my body feels good – that’s the main thing. I haven’t had the chance to play in Spain as a professional yet, but I’m sure it would be this warm as well”.
Westwood certainly didn’t expect to make eight birdies, and he wasn’t all that disappointed with his two bogeys at the end.
“I just felt like I had a bit more energy. It’s so hard to get used to and trust in your mind that that club is going to hit the ball that far”.
“However, the trees are so thick and dense you don’t have a recovery shot, so you have to hit the fairway”.
“It’s a tricky golf course”.
“The president of the United States phones you up and wants to play golf with you”.
“You can hit driver on every hole and with the altitude you can really try to overpower it”, he said. It’s not just a tee up and blast it place. “But my brother’s a great player, and he did a phenomenal job (Friday)”. “I would say my focus was on just trying to get ready for this event and play here”.
“As a college golf coach for many years he understands smart strategy and he was there if I needed to talk through some stuff”.
“If it had been Obama I would have gone to play”. I have a whole new respect for those guys. Took it out to practice on Tuesday and Wednesday and I thought I might as well stick with it, I’d be foolish to go with something else. “I came here not with low expectations but I didn’t really know what to expect”.
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And, while some haven’t been too impressed with the food – Henrik Stenson had to withdraw with a stomach virus and Rory McIlroy had been up all night being sick before shooting a three-under-par 68 – the Mexican culture has been embraced. “Starting the day, I would have taken a 65, but I feel like I could have been a few more ahead”.
