To the surprise of no one, Rory McIlroy is near the top of the leaderboard after the first 18 holes of the RBC Canadian Open.
The Northern Irishman shot a bogey-free four-under 66 at Hamilton Golf and Country Club to move three strokes behind current leaders Sean O’Hare and Sam Burns, who both shot seven-under 63s in the morning wave.
But after the round, McIlroy made a startling confession.
“I played the back nine blindsided,” McIlroy said.
“I only played the first nine holes in the pro-am. I’m happy with the pars and no bogeys. I knew I had a chance in the first half after nine holes and I think I played a lot better in the first half. Four birdies and no bogeys was a good day.”
His putt was over the last four holes. Three Birdies Within that range.
McIlroy made 16 of 18 greens in regulation on Thursday and also gained 3.2 strokes on approaches to the greens, putting him in the lead.
Keeping a clean scorecard was a big boost for him, despite shooting 14 pars in the round, as earlier this year he seemed to have periods where a bogey or worse would mar his round.
But recent events have seen him minimize such mistakes.
“Thankfully, I’m starting to do it again,” he said.
“At the beginning of the year, at least in February, March and April, I was putting up some big numbers and seeing a lot of fluctuations on my scorecard, but it’s really nice to have another round without a bogey.”
The 35-year-old is the favorite to win his fourth RBC Canadian Open title.
McIlroy will begin the second round on Friday at 12:55pm ET along with reigning champion Nick Taylor and Taylor Pendrith.
Savannah Lee Richardson is a Golf Staff Writer for SB Nation Playing Through. Follow us for more golf articles. Follow You can follow us on all major social platforms. You can also follow us on Twitter Follow Instagram: @savannah_leigh_sports
