TROON – So much for the British Open being one last stand for Rory McIlroy in the majors this year. His best hope now is getting beyond one more day.
And he has company from U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau.
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The protagonists from Pinehurst No. 2 were no match for a wind that came out of the opposite direction at Royal Troon and caused both of them more problems than they wanted Thursday.
McIlroy took two shots to get out of a deep bunker right of the “Postage Stamp,” the famous nickname of the 123-yard eighth hole. Three holes later, he hammered driver that sailed over the railroad tracks and out-of-bounds.
It added to a 7-over 78, his worst start to major in five years.
“The conditions were tough on that back nine, and I just didn’t do a good enough job,” he said.
DeChambeau wasn't much better. He couldn't buy a par putt early on, even missing from 3 feet on the par-5 fourth. He tried to hit 7-iron out of the thick grass and moved it only a few feet, leading to a double bogey on the par-5 seventh.
He wound up with a 76 and was headed to the range to figure out his equipment and why his golf ball didn't leave the club the way he expected.
“It was a weird day,” he said.
They were part of the morning wave and the star attraction coming off a U.S. Open that neither is likely to forget. McIlroy had a two-shot lead on the back nine and still in control of his fate until missing a 30-inch par putt on the 16th hole, and then a par putt from just inside 4 feet on the 18th hole that extended his decade-long drought in the majors.
DeChambeau captured his second U.S. Open by getting up-and-down from 55 yards away in a bunker. The finish was so hard for McIlroy that he bolted from Pinehurst No. 2 without speaking or sticking around to congratulate DeChambeau.
McIlroy played last week in the Scottish Open and tied for fourth, and was optimistic about his form going into the final major of the year. But he and everyone else was thrown off their plans when the wind came from an opposite direction.
It was into their faces on the shorter front nine — where good scores are to be had — and helping from the left on the longer back nine, which isn't easy in any conditions.
“I was actually surprised how difficult I felt like the back nine played. I thought we were going to get it a little bit easier than we did,” McIlroy said. “The course was playing tough. The conditions are very difficult in a wind that we haven’t seen so far this week.”
McIlroy said he had a strategy based on the wind from the practice rounds.
“But then when you get a wind you haven’t played in, it starts to present different options and you start to think about maybe hitting a few clubs that you haven’t hit in practice,” he said. “Just one of those days where I just didn't adapt well enough to the conditions.”
The round didn't end well. McIlroy chose to hit driver off the 18th and found a pot bunker to the left that left him no choice but to blast out sideways. He hit wedge to about 8 feet and missed one last putt, making one last bogey, leaving a that much more work ahead.
“I have to do a better job in those conditions, and I need to go out there and play better and try to shoot something under par and at least be here for the weekend, if not try to put myself up the leaderboard a bit more more and feel like I have half a chance,” he said.
McIlroy was 10 shots out of the lead when he finished, hopeful it wouldn't be more.
DeChambeau was more of a slow bleed, going out in 42 and not registering a hole under par until he reached the par-5 16th. That was the one happy spot of the day. He easily reached the green on the 565-yard hole and made a 55-foot eagle putt.
“I'm just proud of the way I persevered today,” DeChambeau said. "Shoot, man, I could have thrown in the towel after nine and could have been like, ‘I’m going home.’ But no, I’ve got a chance tomorrow. I’m excited for the challenge.
“If I have some putts go in and hit some shots the way I know how to and figure out this equipment stuff, I’ll be good.”
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