McIlroy roars into contention with three closing birdies on Day 1 of Amgen Irish Open
In First His Mcilroy 18th Rory Walks Finishing After Green With Off Three Round A Birdies The Row
Just as the Royal County Down galleries were starting to Google the names of Todd Clements and Sami Valimaki for guidance on the Amgen Irish Open first-round leaders, Rory McIlroy roared into contention and all was well again.
The home hero delivered right on cue with three birdies to close his opening 18 on the world-renowned links here and sit two shots off the overnight lead heading into Friday’s second round and an 8am tee time.
That his three-in-a-row followed back-to-back bogeys at the par-three 14th and par-four 15th made the feat all the more satisfying for Holywood’s four-time major champion but McIlroy’s three-under-par 68 was a round of admirable control and course management on a day of changing conditions and constant crosswinds by the Irish Sea.
England’s Clements was even more impressive, his opening 66 featuring an eagle at the par-five 18th, the ninth hole of his round from the 10th tee, and also containing five birdies and one bogey.
The 28-year-old, ranked 291 in the world, has just one top-10 finish this season following a maiden DP World Tour victory at the Czech Masters in 2023 and has a liking for courses here having won the Irish Challenge on the Challenge Tour at the K Club in 2022.
Finland’s Valimaki, making an early claim for yet another Nordic victory in the Irish Open following Vincent Norrman’s victory at The K Club 12 months ago, lies a shot back from Clements having posted a four-under 67, tied for second with Spain’s Alejandro del Rey.
McIlroy is part of a five-player group two off the lead alongside Englishmen Marcus Armitage and Will Enefer, South African Thriston Lawrence and Italy’s Filipa Celli, while 2015 Iriish Open at Royal County Down winner Soren Kjeldsen of Denmark is in a group on two under par.
It is McIlroy’s name, though, which stands out from a crowded leaderboard ahead of the second round and what a boost that is for a tournament which has not had an Irish winner since his own success at The K Club in 2016.
“It was nice, I felt like I controlled my ball flight well,” McIlroy said. “I've been working a little bit on my swing these last couple of weeks. Yeah, it felt a little better.
“I've probably struggled a lot in left-to-right winds this year, so to sort of control my ball flight a bit and test it out there today was good to see that, you know, I was able to do it when I needed to.” McIlroy was pleased with the way he had rebounded from back-to-back bogeys to birdie the 16th, 17th, and 18th and take some momentum into the second round.
“You know, 16 and 18 are really good birdie chances, and after the two bogeys on 14 and 15, I thought, you know, if I can get those two back, you know, that would be a good start, and then to obviously get one more back as well, that birdie on 17, yeah, obviously a really nice way to finish.
“But it's so bunched, you're even par and 30th and you're three-under and you're fourth. It's so bunched. It's the way the golf course is. It's hard to go very low but if you can manage your way around, even if you don't have your game, you can make a lot of pars.
“So I think it's going to be one of these tournaments where you know there's probably going to be a lot of people in with a chance going in to Sunday, just the nature of the golf course and how it plays. But yeah, it was great after the bogeys on 14 and 15, it was great to birdie these last three holes.”
On the eve of the tournament, the world number three and DP World Tour Race To Dubai leader spoke of the double-edged sword of playing in his national open, the adoration he receives from supporters on one side of the blade, the weight of expectation that accompanies it on the flip side. He revealed he had found a way to mitigate some of that expectation by staying away from the course at the family home near Holywood and was confident that had played a part in his strong opening.
“I think it's felt different staying at home. I feel a bit detached from the golf tournament. Today I woke up and usually when you're at a tournament site, like you can get if I was staying at the Slieve Donard (Hotel) there, you can hear people announced on the first tee, and maybe the first thing you do is checking your phone and seeing how the boys started off and checking the leaderboard.
“Staying an hour away, I've felt detached from the tournament this week, which has been quite a nice thing and haven't been so wrapped up in it… probably the reason why I started well, I would say.”
On an opening day of this €6.6 million event when 98 of a 156-man field are on the projected cutline at two over, more Irishmen than not will start the second round inside the mark with 17-year-old Sean Keeling the next best of the home contingent on level par thanks to a remarkable bogey-free, one-under 70, his round of 17 consecutive pars capped off with a 15ft-foot birdie putt at the par-five last.
The Roganstown amateur, a Junior Ryder Cupper in 2023, has already started life on a scholarship at Texas Tech having passed his SATS exams without taking his Leaving Cert. His university gave him permission to return home to play the Irish Open and the decision has already reaped rewards.
“It was too good of an opportunity not to play and the coach understood that,” Keeling said. “He had no problem letting me come back and play.
“It was lovely, finishing in the dark, we were just about done. I enjoyed that putt on the last.
“The first two holes could have been bogeys or worse but I ended up making two good pars and sort of from there I played pretty solid and hit plenty of greens which was solid the whole way around.”
