Rory McIlroy’s Challenging Performance at the RBC Canada Open

Rory McIlroy added another tournament to his record, but it wasn’t quite how he wanted it to go.

During the RBC Canada Open on Friday, the Masters Champion left early after posting one of the lowest scores of his career on the PGA Tour.

He ended up with an 8-over-78, struggling significantly on the fifth hole, which saw him record a quadruple bogey with an eight.

This wasn’t entirely unfamiliar territory for McIlroy; he remembered shooting another 78 in the first round of last year’s British Open, where he also faced tough conditions, including a double bogey on hole 11, along with four bogeys and two birdies.

On Friday, his performance mirrored that pattern again, with double bogeys, four bogeys, and two birdies, marking what he considers one of his more challenging rounds on the PGA Tour.

“Of course, some of this has to do with me,” McIlroy remarked. “You certainly don’t want to be posting scores like I did today. I came in with a new driver that I thought would help my tee shots, but that clearly didn’t work out.”

This marked the fifth time in McIlroy’s career that he shot eight over, only his 10-over-80 from the first round of the 2018 US Open has come in higher.

As of Saturday, he was sitting 21 strokes behind and not having the best of times before heading into his final pre-US Open event.

Interestingly, this was McIlroy’s first time not competing in a major tour since the 2023 Players Championship.

“When I head to Oakmont next week, the crucial thing is hitting the fairways,” he commented, acknowledging a sense of something missing in his tee strategy.

McIlroy had previously claimed victory at the Canadian Open twice, in 2019 and 2022, but the path seemed rocky this time.

Meanwhile, Cameron Champion, currently leading, played his first 36 holes without any bogeys and mentioned, “The conditions have gotten a bit firmer, but overall, they feel quite similar to yesterday.”