Rory McIlroy: Grading Young Star's Round 1 Performance

Rory McIlroy has missed four of his last six cuts. But after firing a first-round 67 (-3), he looks poised to do far better than simply survive the cut at this year's British Open.

For that reason alone, McIlroy will surely be giving himself an "A" after Thursday's play.

The young star has seen his share of up and downs this year, with the four missed cuts to go along with a win at The Honda Classic and five total top-10 finishes. It's been feast or famine in 2012, but after Thursday, it looks like McIlroy will be eating well at Royal Lytham and Saint Annes.

McIlroy birdied six holes in total on Thursday, and headed into the 15th hole with just one bogey on the day. That all changed rather quickly, as McIlroy hit his approach shot off the course and plunked a teenage fan directly in the head.

It was certainly the most bizarre moment of the day, though McIlroy kindly signed his glove and gave it to the fan who had been struck with the ball. It led to a double-bogey, though give the young golfer credit—he followed that stinker up two birdies on 16 and 18 to make up for the gaffe.

McIlroy had the following to say about his day (via Lynn Zinser of The New York Times):

"

It was an eventful last four holes, anyway. Everything was going along pretty nicely, three under standing on the 15th tee. And I had a tee shot slightly right and I got an unfortunate break. But I thought I did well to keep my composure and keep my concentration and finish the way I did. I’m very pleased with that.

Standing on the 16th tee, my goal is to get back to three under par for the day. And I was able to do that. So that birdie on 18 was good. It will make dinner taste very nice tonight.

"

It's not all feast yet for McIlroy, but he's earned a tasty dinner.

On the day, I'll give him an A. He was playing very nice golf before the 15th, and the composure he showed to birdie two holes after the mistake is an excellent sign. He'll need to avoid more mistakes like the double-bogey—just ask Phil Mickelson how damaging a poor day from the tee can be—but he's right where he needs to be after one day.

Now it's just a matter of replicating the performance three more times.

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