Rory McIlroy Says He Was 'S--t' After Opening-Round 74 at 2026 PGA Championship

Rory McIlroy isn't happy after shooting four strokes over par in the opening round of the 2026 PGA Championship.

McIlroy was asked after Thursday's Round 1 to describe his performance, per Golf.com's Sean Zak.

"S--t," McIlroy answered.

McIlroy recorded two birdies and six bogeys, including five over the last six holes, to card a 4-over 74 at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania.

No player has registered an opening-round 74 at the PGA Championship and gone on to win since Payne Stewart in 1989, per The Athletic's Justin Ray.

McIlroy said after the round he'd been caught off guard by the wind at Aronimink.

"I started missing fairways and from there it's hard. I didn't have great angles, and then I got on that bogey train at the end," McIlroy said after the round, per the BBC. "I'm not driving the ball well enough to give myself scoring opportunities and that's pretty frustrating, especially when I pride myself on driving the ball."

McIlroy started out Round 1 with a bogey on No. 10, but bounced back with a birdie at No. 11.

After 11 straight holes at par, however, things fell apart for McIlroy down the stretch as he finished outside the top 100 on the Day 1 leaderboard.

Should McIlroy climb the leaderboard Friday, it wouldn't be the first time he's come back from a tough round this season.

McIlroy set a Masters record for the largest lead through two rounds in April at Augusta National, only to see that advantage erased in the third round.

He ultimately prevailed to finish one stroke ahead of Scottie Scheffler for his second consecutive Masters win.

McIlroy was less successful at last week's Truist Championship, during which he dealt with discomfort due to a blister under the pinky toe on his right foot, per the BBC's Iain Carter.

The issue also led to an early stop to McIlroy's Tuesday practice round at Aronimink, per Carter.

McIlroy said the following day his foot was "sore" but that he was "pleasantly surprised" by how he felt during his Wednesday practice round.

When asked after Thursday's round if his toe was still bothering him, McIlroy answered, "No."

Last week's tournament at Quail Hollow marked McIlroy's first PGA Tour action since the Masters. McIlroy ranked in the top 10 after two rounds but faded with a third-round 75 before finishing tied for 19th.

McIlroy will now need to put together a strong second round in order to make the cut. He is set to tee off Round 2 alongside Jordan Speith and Jon Rahm on Friday at 2:05 p.m. ET.