McIlroy narrows his focus: "If you need someone to shoot between even par and 2-under, I'm your man"
Hideki Matsuyama of Japan plays his shot from the 15th tee during the first round of the BMW Championship on the North Course at Olympia Fields Country Club on August 27, 2020 in Olympia Fields, Illinois. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
Like the distracted student who suddenly finds some focus three weeks before a major examination, Rory McIlroy showed signs of emerging from his post-lockdown funk out the outskirt of Chicago last night.
Hard and fast conditions on a US Open style course would not normally be the Holywood man’s cup of tea.
But in chiselling out a level par 70 around Olympia Fields’ North Course to lie just three shots behind leader Hideki Matsuyama in the BMW Championship, he may just find his mojo in time to compete for the US Open at Winged Foot.
“It was a grind, obviously,” said McIlroy, who missed putts from 3’10”, 3’7”, 2’6” but survived the day by hitting nine of 14 fairways (T7) and gaining 1.85 shots on the field for his approach play (5th) on a day when just three players broke par.
“I think everyone found it a grind out there. Yeah, you know, I wasn't expecting it to be as difficult as it was. The greens were firming up yesterday in the practice round, but that felt like Saturday at the U.S. Open out there rather than Thursday at a PGA TOUR event.
“Yeah, happy to get in at even par. I said last week after the tournament, if you need someone to shoot between like even par and 2-under, I'm your man, so I'm loving these conditions.
“It's sort of weird; the way my game feels at the minute, it's just as easy for me to shoot even-par here as it was last week in Boston, for whatever reason that is. But yeah, keep it in play, hit the greens, two putts, move on. It's more comfortable for me at the minute.”
Olympia Fields played like a PGA Tour event for the 2003 US Open, when sparse rough and soft green were the order of the day. This time it played as the members would like with rock hard greens making players think twice about their tactics, and McIlroy described the set up as one of the best of the season.
“I think the two best setups this year have been the Memorial and here by far,” he said. “You could maybe throw Harding Park in there, as well. But this is proper golf. This is you've really got to think about stuff, you've got to land it on your numbers, you've got to put it in play. Those sort of five-, six-footers for pars to sort of keep the momentum going is huge. It's nice to play a round of golf like that again.”
Admitting that he’s been forced to focus — something he’s struggled with for weeks — he added: “I think the harder it is the more you have to focus. Yeah, that's probably a part of it. That's probably a part of it. My concentration today was much better because it needed to be. I was happy with how I played out there.”
Matsuyama hit just six fairways but he was first for strokes gained with his approach shots to the green, knocking in a 67 footer at the ninth for his sixth birdie of the day and a three-under 67.
He’s one stroke clear of Tyler Duncan and two ahead of Mackenzie Hughes with McIlroy in a 10-man tie for fourth place on level par.
Tiger Woods, visibly struggling with his back, bogeyed his last three holes for a 73.
Like the bi-racial Cameron Champ, who wore a black and a white shoe in solidarity with the wave of protests against police violence, he was asked if he was tempted not to play, as NBA and MLB teams had done this week.
“No, I talked to the commissioner and they were on board,” Woods said. “Obviously he released his statement, and all the guys were on board. So no, obviously there was talk about it because of obviously what happened, but we're all on board, on the same page.”
The PGA Tour statement effectively said that it supported the other sports organisations but would do its bit by playing on.
“The MLB, MLS, NBA, WNBA and WTA protests are player-led, peaceful, powerful ways to use their respective platforms to bring about the urgent need for change in our country,” the statement read. “There have been a number of efforts in the past to send a message that the current climate is unacceptable, and these teams, leagues and players now taking this step will help draw further attention to the issues that really matter. The PGA TOUR supports them – and any of our own members – standing up for issues they believe in.
“The PGA TOUR made a pledge over the summer to be part of the solution, and we have been actively working to make deeper and more specific commitments to racial equity and inclusion in the communities where we play, as well as supporting national organisations within this movement that we had not previously engaged with.
“However, we understand that now is not the appropriate time to highlight our programmes and policies, but rather to express our outrage at the injustice that remains prevalent in our country. Sports have always had the power to inspire and unify, and we remain hopeful that together, we will achieve change.”
