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It’s hard to believe it’s only been four days since the end of the US Open at Los Angeles Country Club, and yet here we are, across the country in Cromwell, Connecticut, keeping up with the steady drumbeat of the PGA Tour schedule at the Travelers’ Championship.
After a narrow defeat in pursuit of his fifth title in Los Angeles, Rory McIlroy was among dozens of players to show up at TPC River Highlands straight from the Open. There is no rest for the tired in the round – and there is still one more to prepare for. The Open Championship at Royal Liverpool is just four weeks away.
However, you have to wonder what kind of exhaustion players like McIlroy are feeling after a long, grueling week in California. His first round of two-under 68 has a T46 – about the first third of the field. But he has an eight shot lead over captain Denny McCarthy.
But despite the ups and downs of McIlroy’s day (five birdies, five bogeys), he managed to pull off a feat he’d never done before: the number one ace on the PGA Tour.
“With a hole in the ones, I’ve had them in the past where it’s like a good shot and you’re a little bit lucky,” McIlroy said after his round. “Obviously it was a bonus to go in the hole, but it was really great. I’ve played average up to that point. I felt like this hole-in-one had me going a bit. Bird in the next holes after that and he kind of made me into the championship a little bit.”
The eighth hole at TPC River Highlands is 214 yards.
While McIlroy admitted that the ace got him a bit ahead, he knows the bogey has to be played down if he’s going to get a chance to compete in a tournament that usually features very low scoring.
“I don’t even know if I made five bogeys during the entire US Open last week,” McIlroy said. “I just need to – I think I did, but I just need to sort it out. Making five birdies and an eagle out will be good enough for me to be in the top 5. I just need to get the wrongs out.”
Some other picks like the 5-iron will do just fine. As for the one-hole ball?
“I got rid of it,” McIlroy said.
I am waiting, What?
“I’m not sentimental. I don’t care. I’d rather get trophies than golf balls.”
McIlroy’s quest for that trophy will continue early Friday morning, as he takes place at 7:35 a.m. ET alongside Tom Kim and Victor Hovland in the second round.