Rory McIlroy’s tough start at FedEx St. Jude Championship
It’s been a tournament to forget so far for the Master’s champions but he still has time
Dubai: Rory McIlroy endured a disappointing start to the FedExCup Playoffs, carding a four-over-par opening round at the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis.
Making his first appearance since finishing tied for 40th at The Open at Royal Birkdale nearly a month ago, McIlroy was level par with just three holes remaining. However, a disastrous finish saw him tumble down the leaderboard and towards the back of the field.
McIlroy dropped shots on the 16th and 17th before a double bogey on the final hole at TPC Southwind, after his tee shot on the closing par-four found the water.
The 74 left McIlroy nine shots off the pace, with Jordan Spieth leading a group of five Americans on five-under par after the opening round.
Spieth began the week outside the top 50 in the FedExCup standings, meaning he currently sits outside the qualification places for next week’s BMW Championship. He shares top spot with Michael Thorbjornsen, Kurt Kitayama, Jake Knapp and Michael Kim.
Spieth said: "I just tried to come into this week and just be as patient, non-reactive as possible, dumb it down to try to win the golf tournament and not worry about anything else."
England's Tommy Fleetwood, playing alongside Spieth, sits just one shot off the lead after carding an opening-round 66, highlighted by a superb chip-in eagle at the par-five third.
Fleetwood said: "I feel good. I didn't really play very good in the practice days. Game's not really been that great. I've been showing a lot, like some good and some really not so good.
"Hit it great off the tee today. Still my iron play was iffy, but I did a good job of managing it for the most part. Still hit some really good shots, and you can never underestimate how good - I think shooting under par on this golf course is very good."
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, playing alongside McIlroy in the marquee group over the opening two rounds, made a solid start with a four-under-par 68.
Scheffler said: "I felt like I hit a lot of quality shots with my irons.I did a good job of being patient and not trying to force it too much.
"I feel like I was right on the edge of having a good day, kind of all day is how I would describe it. So, I felt like patience-wise, I did a pretty good job."
McIlroy could take some consolation from avoiding the worst score of the day, with Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre enduring a nightmare round as he carded a 12-over-par 82.
His position in the 70-man field means his place in next week’s BMW Championship is not under threat, while the absence of a cut gives him two more rounds to work his way up the leaderboard over the weekend.
