Rory McIlroy admits the back nine caught him by surprise on day one of The Open.

Rory McIlroy’s journey at Royal Troon took an unexpected turn as the Northern Irishman faced significant challenges, culminating in a final-round score of +7 par 78.

Far from the performance expected from the world-ranked number two, McIlroy now finds himself with a daunting second-round task. To make the cut, he must play near-perfect golf, a feat made more daunting by a discouraging statistic: since 2000, only 5.6 percent of players who shoot 78 or higher in the first round of The Open have managed to make the cut.

 

Nevertheless, McIlroy is not one to give up easily. The four-time major champion has shown in the past that he can make remarkable comebacks.

 

“I felt like I did okay for the first part of the round and then missed the green at the Postage Stamp and left it in, making a double,” said the 35-year-old. “Still, I felt like I was in reasonable enough shape being a couple over through 9, thinking I could maybe get those couple shots back, try to shoot even par, something like that. Then hitting the ball out of bounds on 11, making a double there.

 

“Even though the wind on the back nine was helping, it was a lot off the left. I was actually surprised how difficult I felt the back nine played. I thought we were going to get it a little bit easier than we did. The course was playing tough. The conditions were very difficult in a wind we haven’t seen so far this week.

 

“When that happens, you play your practice rounds, you have a strategy you think will help you navigate the course, but then you get a wind you haven’t played in, it starts to present different options. You start to think about maybe hitting a few clubs you haven’t hit in practice. Yeah, just one of those days where I didn’t adapt well enough to the conditions.

 

“I think your misses get punished a lot more this week than even last week or any week, whether you miss it in a fairway bunker or even the rough. The balls I hit in the rough today, the lies were pretty nasty. You just get penalized more for your misses.”

 

McIlroy wasn’t the only top player to struggle. Bryson DeChambeau also endured an opening round to forget, ending the day five over par.

 

The 30-year-old American began with four bogeys and a double-bogey on the front nine but managed to recover somewhat, finishing the back nine with a -1 score, totaling 76 for the day.

 

Commenting on his early struggles, DeChambeau said, “It was in and off the right, and I was trying to draw the ball, but it was knuckling a little bit. It was a really difficult challenge, and I should have just cut the ball.

 

“It’s a completely different test (from practicing). I didn’t get any practice in it, and I didn’t really play much in the rain. Yeah, it’s a difficult test out here.

 

“It’s something I’m not familiar with. I never grew up playing it, and not to say that that’s the reason; I finished eighth at St. Andrews. I can do it when it’s warm and not windy.”

 

Another notable struggle came from Tiger Woods, who finished the day eight over par, highlighting the tough conditions faced by even the most seasoned players.