McIlroy fires superb 67

Kiawah Island: Call it a B plus. Rory McIlroy went searching for his best game here at the 94th USPGA Championship and came back from the examination with good reason to be more than satisfied. The first-round 67 was McIlroy’s lowest in relation to par since last year’s US Open, where he broke so many records in making his breakthrough.

In truth, this was a major score that was overdue. In the 14 months after Congressional, McIlroy has won three times and spent time as world No 1.

But he has not begun to fulfil the major predictions of all those who saw him grace Maryland. On Wednesday he graded his year “as a B”. That could yet be upgraded.

“This is a great way to start the tournament, with no bogeys and five birdies” said the 23 year-old.

“It’s a score to build on.” At five under he was in an early tie for second, one off the pace set by Sweden’s Carl Pettersson. Apart from the intense humidity, the morning starters had enjoyed near perfect conditions, with no wind and a course softened by a week of thunderstorms. The greens were not only holding, they were ideal to putt on.

“Hitting balls on the range first thing there was absolutely no wind; it was flat calm,” said McIlroy. “I really thought that I had to take advantage of the conditions.”

He attacked straight from off. Starting on the 10th, he split the fairway with a driver, plonked a sand wedge to 12 feet and holed the putt. On the 14th, he struck a three-iron 246 yards to 12 feet for another three.

He then birdied two par fives in the 16th and second and on the 480-yard par four sixth which he reduced to a driver, wedge and a 15-footer. There were a few missed six-footers in the mix as well, but McIlroy was about to bemoan that. He is delighted with his putting.

“I made a slight adjustment to my routine in Akron last week and it made a huge difference,” said McIlroy, referring to the fifth place at the WGC Bridgestone Invitational.

“I felt so much better on the greens that I did at the Open. Dave [Stockton, his putting coach] said to me, ‘Go out there, have fun, enjoy it and smile’. That’s something I’ve really to do this past fortnight and it worked again today.”

There was some good fortune as well, which he could have been forgiven for viewing as payback. At Lytham, his hopes went south when a drive rebounded off a teenager’s head and out of bounds during the second round. Three weeks on he hit a female fan on the hip after badly pulling his tee-shot to the treacherous par-three 17th and it deflected into a kind lie in the sand only 25 feet from the flag.

McIlroy duly splashed out to six feet, saved his par and brought a cheer from the gallery by running back to give the woman the ball. It was a morning to grab whatever one could. So many capitalised, including Gary Woodland, the big-hitting American, on the same mark as McIlroy, John Daly, who shot a 68, and Tiger Woods with a three-under.

He is ominously positioned, although the 69 owed plenty to his short game. Woods hit only 10 greens in regulation but courtesy of 12 one-putts and 22 putts overall he was able to minimise the damage of some errant approach shots. “I putted well today,” he said, with typical understatement. “I just need to clean up a few shots and I’ll be OK.” He will be more than OK.

If he can marry up the ball-striking of last week with the sweet touch of yesterday then South Carolina could witness his 15th major. Woods moaned about his putting in Akron, but his form has seemed to switch around. The fear is that his game is still not up to coping with brutal conditions and it is inevitable Kiawah Island will bear its teeth at some stage. As it was, the Ocean Course was flashing its pearlies with a welcoming grin.

“Everyone of us is expecting this to be the best day of the week,” said McIlroy. “We know that there’s wind coming in and maybe some bad weather. It’s just something we have to deal with. And that’s why I’m so glad to have this platform to go from.”

Daly, of course, already has a Wanamaker Trophy in his cabinet, although not many, if any, here expected him to remind of his heroics at Crooked Stick 21 years ago.

But the 46 year-old nicknamed Wild Thing has been working hard of late and has felt the good times returning. His finished in a tie for fifth last week’s Reno-Tahoe Open, which was his first top 10 in America in seven years.

But then, he does not receive the invites he used to, as the American sponsors run scared from his reputation. He has been forced to travel and on the European Tour has found a warmer reception both in the entry departments and the locker room.

“The guys on the European Tour are good guys,” said Daly, who was treated as a pariah in his own country.

“I’m not saying ours aren’t, but they just seem to be more into helping you out a little bit more than our guys do. Maybe it’s because they don’t play for as much money as we do, but they make me feel good over in Europe.”