Rory McIlroy at WGC-Cadillac Championship 2016: Thursday Score and Reaction
Rory McIlroy made a major change to his putting grip following a disastrous two days at the Honda Classic last week, and the adjustment paid dividends Thursday during the first round of the WGC-Cadillac Championship at Trump National Doral in Miami.
Coming off a missed cut at the Honda Classic, McIlroy posted a one-under 71 that represented a positive step forward following a four-over showing last week.
| Par | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 |
| Score | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 |
| Par | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Score | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 5 |
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Playing in a group that featured World No. 1 Jordan Spieth (minus-three) and No. 2 Jason Day (even), the third-ranked McIlroy had plenty to prove Thursday as he sought to erase memories of an underwhelming outing Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
Fortunately for the 26-year-old, he didn't wait long to put his reformed putting stroke to work after he smoked the ball down Doral's fairways upon starting on the back nine, per PGATour.com's Mike McAllister:
Although his 18-foot eagle putt stopped short of the cup on No. 10, McIlroy collected himself and calmly knocked in a birdie to set the tone for a relatively successful round.
A bogey on the par-three 13th briefly sent McIlroy back to one under, but a pair of birdies on Nos. 15 and 17 throttled him into the red.
A bogey on the 18th could have represented a step back for McIlroy as he made the turn for the front nine, but the Irishman rebounded quickly and converted a birdie on No. 1 to move back to three under.
McIlroy appeared headed for a clean front nine as he recorded pars on holes Nos. 2-8, but he slipped up on No. 9 when his tee shot found the water. As a result, McIlroy carded a double bogey that sent him to one under for the round.
The story of the day, though, was McIlroy's putting. Speaking to reporters Wednesday, McIlroy said he would be making the change to a left-hand-low grip that he hadn't used in eight years, according to ESPN.com's Jason Sobel.
And while it was fair to wonder if the change was a mistake just weeks before the Masters Tournament, McIlroy seemed to appear more confident with the blade in his hands.
"I really do feel like it helps me put a stroke on it that I want to," McIlroy said Wednesday, per Sobel. "It's a great feeling. I feel like it gives my putting stroke a bit more of a better rhythm, as well, a better flow.
The results were hit-or-miss—which made sense considering the change was made on such short notice—and as the PGA Tour on Twitter documented, McIlroy came up empty when he had a chance for birdie on the 16th:
According to Golf Channel's Justin Ray, McIlroy actually struggled mightily on fairly close-range putts despite finishing in the red:
With Thursday's round in the books and Friday presenting the chance for him to pick things up, the key for McIlroy will be posting gains on the greens Friday.
The world's third-ranked player entered the first round at the Cadillac Championship ranked 119th in putting average (1.773), 173rd in one-putt percentage (35.71) and 184th in three-putt avoidance (3.97 percent) while clocking in at 169th in average putts per round (29.71) this season.
As those numbers indicate, McIlroy could have faced quite a bit of regression had he not opted for a change.
And while it's still unclear if the left-hand-low strategy will pay off in the long run, Thursday's display should help ease McIlroy's nerves as he gets set for Friday's 12:38 p.m. ET start.
Post-Round Reaction
"I felt like I played pretty solid actually," McIlroy said, according to Sky Sports. "I made a couple of mistakes, but apart from that I felt ball-striking wise it was a good day."
However, McIlroy admitted that he needs to do a better job of reading greens when Friday's round gets underway.
"My speed wasn't too good on the greens. I was leaving a lot of putts short," McIlroy said, per GolfChannel.com's Rex Hoggard. "But I guess that’s to be expected. It's the first day competitively with a bit of a new grip. But I felt like it was pretty good."
"It’s tiny margins,” McIlroy said of his finish, according to the Guardian's Ewan Murray. "When you’re playing well you’re sharp and you’re really on your game, you don’t make those mistakes. Right now, I’m struggling with that part of the game. I just need to tidy it up."
"It's always disappointing to end the way I did," McIlroy added, per Sky Sports. "I just need to get out there tomorrow and try and pick up those shots quickly again and try to start from there."
Stats courtesy of PGATour.com.
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