In his first ever visit to TPC Scottsdale for the Waste Management Phoenix Open, Rory McIlroy might have wished he had never set foot in the place after a disastrous double-bogey, bogey start to his first round put him on the back foot from the get-go.
Yet in demonstrating his fortitude McIlroy put that disastrous start behind him as he recovered to shoot an opening one-under-par 70 that at least put him on the right side of par.
American Matthew NeSmith – seeking a breakthrough win on the PGA Tour – took advantage of near-perfect conditions in Arizona to claim the clubhouse lead with a flawless eight-under-par 63, featuring an eagle and six birdies and he was joined later in the day at that mark by Mark Hubbard.
Pádraig Harrington sits one shot back of McIlroy after a disappointing finish to what was turning out to be a very solid round.
The European Ryder Cup captain played the front nine into two under par with birdies at the fourth and ninth before picking up another shot at the 15th. However, his bogey-free run came to an end at the 17th and he would compound that damage by winding up with a double bogey six at the 18th after finding the water off the tee.
It meant Harrington eventually signed for a level par round of 71 to sit eight shots behind Hubbard and NeSmith.
For McIlroy, playing alongside Xander Schauffele and Daniel Berger, the opening couple of holes proved to be nightmarish: on the 10th, his first, the 31-year-old Northern Irishman hit his approach into a greenside bunker and, although his ball was just inches from Schauffele’s in the sand trap, McIlroy opted not to get his playing partner to mark his ball and paid the price as his attempted recovery shot across the putting surface and into another bunker. McIlroy ran up an opening double-bogey six.
Then, on the 11th, his second, McIlroy’s drive finished behind a tree and he could only advance it back towards the fairway. Ultimately he had a five-footer to save par, but missed and found himself three-over through just two holes.
To his credit McIlroy responded by birdieing each of the two Par 5s – the 13th and the 15th – and then got back on level terms with a chip-in birdie two on the 16th to go on to turn in 36.
On his homeward run McIlroy then claimed birdies on the second, where he rolled in a 25-footer, and the Par 5 third, before suffering his only bogey of the run-in on the eighth where he found a deep fairway bunker off the tee.
“It was a good battle-back,” said McIlroy. “Being three-over through two isn’t ideal, especially on this golf course where you sort of need to make birdies. But I fought back well. I wish I didn’t drop that shot coming in on the eighth hole, but shooting under par after that start wasn’t too bad.”
With a limited number of spectators of 5,000 a day at the course, McIlroy appreciated having some crowd interaction. “Just to get clapped for some good shots and good putts and get encouragement from green to tees, it was really nice to see people out here.”
NeSmith tried to take his low round in his stride. “I drove it good. I hit my irons well. I putted good. I just kind of did everything that you’re supposed to do, everything kind of was pretty simple. Drive it on the fairways, hit the greens, try and make as many putts as possible.”
Collated first round scores in the USPGA Tour Waste Management Phoenix Open, TPC Scottsdale, Scottsdale, Arizona, United States of America (USA unles stated, Par 71)
63 Matthew NeSmith, Mark Hubbard
64 Nate Lashley, Sam Burns
65 Steve Stricker
66 Xander Schauffele, Ted Potter Jr., Billy Horschel, Tom Hoge, Keegan Bradley, Kyoung-Hoon Lee (Kor)
67 Scott Stallings, Jordan Spieth, Scottie Scheffler, Andrew Putnam, Michael Kim, Bo Hoag, James Hahn, Carlos Ortiz (Mex), Adam Hadwin (Can)
68 Nick Hardy, Matthew Wolff, Harold Varner III, Brendon Todd, Kevin Streelman, J. T. Poston, Brooks Koepka, Zach Johnson, John Huh, Cameron Champ, Ryan Armour, Henrik Norlander (Swe), Jon Rahm (Spa), Russell Knox (Sco), Satoshi Kodaira (Jpn), Matt Jones (Aus)
69 Richy Werenski, Bo Van Pelt, Chez Reavie, Pat Perez, Matt Kuchar, Patton Kizzire, Max Homa, Stewart Cink, Daniel Berger, Byeong-Hun An (Kor), Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa)
69 Corey Conners (Can), Emiliano Grillo (Arg)
70 Jimmy Walker, Michael Thompson, Justin Thomas, Brian Stuard, Brendan Steele, Sam Ryder, Ryan Palmer, Grayson Murray, Ryan Moore, Denny McCarthy, Jamie Lovemark, Chris Kirk, Beau Hossler, Will Gordon, Talor Gooch, Brice Garnett, Rory McIlroy (NIrl), Tom Lewis (Eng), Xinjun Zhang (Chn), Nick Taylor (Can)
71 Will Zalatoris, Bubba Watson, Cameron Tringale, Kyle Stanley, Jerry Kelly, Charley Hoffman, Russell Henley, Brian Harman, Austin Cook, Chengtsung Pan (Tai), Si Woo Kim (Kor), Dylan Frittelli (Rsa), Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn), Pádraig Harrington (Irl), Sepp Straka (Aut), Jason Day (Aus)
72 Kelly Kraft, Mark Anguiano, Robert Streb, Kevin Stadler, Robby Shelton, Adam Schenk, Patrick Rodgers, Davis Riley, Doc Redman, Jesse Mueller, Adam Long, Luke List, J. B. Holmes, Scott Harrington, Lucas Glover, Brian Gay, Harris English, Jason Dufner, Wyndham Clark, Scott Brown, Sung Jae Im (Kor), Charl Schwartzel (Rsa)
73 Vincent Whaley, Kevin Tway, Vaughn Taylor, Webb Simpson, Erik van Rooyen (Rsa), Martin Laird (Sco), Luke Donald (Eng)
74 Aaron Wise, Troy Merritt, Hunter Mahan, Rickie Fowler, Tyler Duncan, Danny Lee (Nzl), Camilo Villegas (Col)
75 Martin Trainer, Keith Mitchell, William McGirt, Harry Higgs, Joel Dahmen
76 Gary Woodland, John Augenstein
77 Hudson Swafford, Sung-Hoon Kang (Kor), Rory Sabbatini (Svk),
78 Sebastian Munoz (Col)
