Rory McIlroy with work to do at Canadian Open after bogey-bogey finish
Rory McIlroy
, the
Masters
champion and world number two, playing for the first time since the
US PGA
last month, experienced a lowkey return to tournament play in the RBC Canada Open with a bogey-bogey finish to his first round 71, one-over-par, that left him trailing clubhouse leaders Taylor Pendrith and Alex Smalley by six strokes.
With a new TaylorMade Qi35 driver in his bag, replacing the Qi10 model which failed a characteristic time (CT) test at the PGA, McIlroy struggled to find his rhythm in cool conditions at the TPC Toronto Osprey Valley course, where placing on the fairways was in operation due to heavy rain in recent days.
Aiming to fine-tune his game ahead of next week's US Open at Oakmont, where driving accuracy will be a key factor for potential winners on a course which traditionally plays as one of the toughest in the Majors, McIlroy's 71 featured four bogeys and three birdies.
Having started his round on the 10th, those three birdies came in a sequence from the par-5 18th and also included the par-5 first (both putts effective tap-ins, from just 12 inches) and par-4 second, where he sank an 11-footer, but his good work was undone by a poor finish. A drive into the right rough on the eighth led to a bogey and a tee shot into a fairway bunker on the ninth, his closing hole, led to another dropped shot, which left McIlroy fighting the cut mark ahead of his second round.
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'I actually felt like I played okay. It was my first outing with a new driver, and I felt like that went pretty well. I hit some drives that I liked and that I liked to see, so that was encouraging. I hit some good iron shots, missed a couple of greens and didn't get them up-and-down, especially those last couple holes.
'Overall, I'm actually pretty happy with how I played. Obviously need to go a little bit lower [in the second round] and over the weekend to have a chance. I'm still trying to work on some things, but yeah, I'm okay with where everything is,' said McIlroy.
On getting used to the new driver, McIlroy added: 'It's hard with the driver, like with the one I had been playing with previously, when I missed with it, I was a little bit left. Then my miss with this one is a little bit right. It's just trying to figure that out and manage it a little bit.'
Former collegiate star Luke Clanton, playing in his first PGA Tour event as a professional, was grouped with McIlroy and Ludvig Aberg and managed to outscore McIlroy.
'Being paired with Rory is no joke. Watching him hit drivers and iron shots, it's cool. I watched him growing up my whole life, so I guess you could say he's like the Tiger Woods of my life, and it's really cool,' said Clanton, who was three over on his card through seven holes but fought back to sign for a level-par 70.
Pendrith led the home challenge with a strong opening 65 but admitted to also having an eye ahead to next week's US Open.
'Next week you're going to have to hit fairways. The fairways are relatively wide here, I'd say. I know they're narrower next week, but I feel really good with the driver and have been swinging it well for a while now. There's a lot of drivers out here, so just getting some practice with that.'
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Irish Independent
7 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Rory McIlroy admits ‘concern' for US Open as he crashes to 78 to miss Canadian Open cut
The Masters champion hit just four fairways at TPC Toronto and shot his highest score since opening with a 78 en route to missing the weekend in last year's Open at Royal Troon. "Yeah, of course it concerns me," McIlroy said after his first missed cut since the final Major of the season last July. "You don't want to shoot high scores like the one I did today. "Still, I felt like I came here obviously with a new driver thinking that that was going to be good and solve some of the problems off the tee, but it didn't. "Obviously, going to Oakmont next week, what you need to do more than anything else there is hit fairways. Still searching for the missing piece off the tee. "Obviously, for me, when I get that part of the game clicking, then everything falls into place for me. Right now that isn't. Yeah, that's a concern going into next week." McIlroy had his preferred driver ruled non-conforming at last month's PGA Championship and struggled from the tee there, finishing 14 shots behind winner Scottie Scheffler in joint 47th. He opted for the new TaylorMade model this week but again struggled from the tee en route to missing the cut by a whopping 11 shots. The Holywood star knew he needed to shoot in the 60s to make the cut after opening with a one-over 71. But his hopes evaporated early when he tugged his second out of bounds playing with a wedge from the rough at the 447-yard fifth and ran up a quadruple bogey eight. Further bogeys followed at the eighth and 10th before he blocked his tee shot into a pond at the 197-yard 11th and made a double-bogey five, then dropped another shot at the 13th, where he drove miles left behind a tree. He made his first birdie of the day at the 15th but bogeyed the 17th before finishing with a birdie four. "I think there's still learnings that you have to take from a day like today," said McIlroy, who found just four fairways, two on each nine. "Even though the last two days didn't go the way I wanted them to, there are still things that I can take from it, and there are still things that I can learn. "I'm gonna have to do a lot of practice and a lot of work over the weekend at home to try to at least have a better idea of where my game is going into next week." He has a decision to make about his driver before taking on Oakmont's punishing rough, as eight of his ten misses in round two were to the right. "I didn't hit enough fairways," he said. "I felt like I drove the ball a bit better yesterday than I did today. "I think once I made that big number on the front nine, I was always behind the eight ball a little. And then, after nine holes, I'd sort of resigned myself to the fact that I'd be flying home to Florida tonight. "It was just about trying to make a few good swings, seeing where the misses were, and you're trying to sort of learn as much as I could, just looking ahead to next week." On the driver, he added: "So I went back to a 44-inch driver this week to try to get something that was a little more in control and could try to get something a bit more in play. "But if I'm going to miss fairways, I'd rather have the ball speed and miss the fairway than not. "I said to Harry going down the last, this is obviously the second time this year I've tried the new version [of driver], and it hasn't quite worked out for me. "So I'd say I'll be testing quite a few drivers over the weekend." It was a better day for Shane Lowry, who shot a two-under 68 to go into the weekend tied for seventh, just four shots behind Cameron Champ on eight-under. Champ shot 66 to lead by two shots on 12-under from Andrew Putnam, who shot a best-of-the-day 62.
Irish Examiner
8 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Rory McIlroy has 'concerns' as he misses Canadian Open cut by country mile
Rory McIlroy's US Open preparations went spectacularly awry as yet another happy hunting ground turned on him in vicious fashion, the Masters champion missing the cut by a country mile in a Friday horror show at the RBC Canadian Open. Twice a winner in Toronto, McIlroy purred midweek about how this tournament has served as such a reliable springboard to the year's third major in recent years. The 2025 edition didn't follow suit in any way, shape or form, instead ejecting him out at the halfway mark as he missed a cut in North America for the first time in over two years. McIlroy admitted he'll be leaving with deep concerns, particularly after a driver change didn't go according to plan at all. 'Of course it concerns me. You don't want to shoot high scores like the one I did today,' said a visibly frustrated McIlroy. 'I felt like I came here obviously with a new driver thinking that that was going to be good and solve some of the problems off the tee, but it didn't. 'Obviously going to Oakmont next week, what you need to do more than anything else there is hit fairways. I'm still searching for the sort of missing piece off the tee. Obviously for me, when I get that part of the game clicking, then everything falls into place for me. Right now that isn't. Yeah, that's a concern going into next week.' Needing a second-round revival after a sluggish opener at TPC Toronto, McIlroy instead plumbed the depths with an utterly woeful 8-over 78, low-lighted by a quadruple bogey eight. Somehow, it could have been worse, a couple of late birdies saving him from finishing double digits over par. To blame it all on the bedding-in period for his new TaylorMade driver would be to ignore all the other parts of his game which coughed and spluttered. He left the course on 9-over with just three others in the 153-strong field below him. With the notoriously challenging Oakmont hosting next week's US Open, there's a laundry list of work-ons. 'I think there's still learnings that you have to take from a day like today. Look, even though the last two days didn't go the way I wanted them to, there's still things that I can take from it, and there's still things that I can learn,' he insisted. 'I'm going to have to do a lot of practice and a lot of work over the weekend at home and try to at least have a better idea of where my game is going into next week." How disorienting this must all feel, mere weeks removed from his drought-breaking, career grand slam-clinching victory at Augusta in April. In truth, it looks as though McIlroy hasn't yet figured out what golf will look like now that he achieved his holy grail. At the PGA Championship last month, hosted at a Quail Hollow course which he has made his own, he was also fitful and frustrated. At least there he made the cut. It was clear his trip north would be a short one after the disaster came early Friday afternoon. A wild second shot out of the right rough on the 5th hole ended up with a lost ball and from there little improved as he carded an ugly quadruple eight. Another bogey at the 8th left him on 6-over with the cutline disappearing over the horizon. 'I didn't hit enough fairways. I felt like I drove the ball better yesterday than I did today. I think, once I made that big number on the front nine, I was always behind the 8 ball a little bit. After nine holes, I sort of resigned myself to the fact that I'd be flying home to Florida tonight,' McIlroy said. It got worse, another wild drive on 10 the spark for another bogey and then a wet tee shot on the short 11th resulting in a double. Even the late brace of birdies was offset by one more bogey in between on the 17th. Look at the strokes gained data and there were only flashing red lights for the Holywood man. Most worryingly, he was 148th of 153 off the tee. After the driver he used to win at Augusta was deemed non-conforming in a pre-PGA check at Quail Hollow, McIlroy has been testing out a new big stick. So far it's a bit of trial and a lot of error. 'So I went back to a 44-inch driver this week to try to get something that was a little more in control and could try to get something a bit more in play. But if I'm going to miss fairways, I'd rather have the ball speed and miss the fairway than not,' he explained. 'I was saying to Harry going down the last this is the second time this year I've tried the new version, and it hasn't quite worked out for me. So I'd say I'll be testing quite a few drivers over the weekend.' The Irish challenge will instead be carried by Shane Lowry who followed Thursday's stellar 64 with a steadier two-under 68 to put himself in a halfway clubhouse tie for sixth, four shots back of leader Cameron Champ.
Irish Independent
11 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Shane Lowry moves into contention with second round 68 at Canadian Open
The world number 12 followed an opening bogey with three birdies and while he didn't play as well as he did for his first round 64, he gave his iron play another workout as he dials in his spin control for Oakmont next week. 'I didn't play as well, but it was probably one of those where I probably felt like the golf course was easier than it was because I played so good yesterday,' said the Offaly man, who was tied for fourth with Ryan Fox, Jake Knapp and Cristobal Del Solar on eight-under, just four shots behind early halfway leader Cameron Champ. 'I didn't hit it close enough today and didn't really do much really well, drove it a bit poorly. 'But you're kind of going out there to put yourself in a position going into the weekend now. But I think the scoring and the course was actually a bit more difficult today than yesterday.' Starting on the back nine at TPC Toronto in cool and breezy conditions, Lowry dropped a shot when he missed the first of seven fairways at the 10th before going bogey-free from there. He made a 30-footer for birdie at the 13th and an eight-footer for another at the 15th to move to seven-under before using his short game to keep his momentum going. At the tough, 508-yard 17th, he was 66 yards short of the green in two after finding rough off the tee but flicked a wedge to eight inches to set up his par four. He didn't birdie the gettable par-five 18th or first holes but after missing chances early on the back nine, he got away with a pulled drive and made a 25-footer for another birdie at the fifth, then watched a 10-footer fall in the side door for par at the 220-yard seventh. 'It was beautiful out there yesterday, and there wasn't much wind at all,' Lowry said of the contrast between rounds. 'There was a bit of wind up this morning, and when you're down in the valleys and between the trees, it kind of swirls a little bit. 'So it was tough to get that right and with softer greens, it's very hard to get the ball pin high here. So you need to be in full control of your ball.' Lowry has made no secret of the fact that he's looking forward to the challenge of Oakmont, where he was tied second in the 2016 US Open, and he believes this week's test can help. 'I think there's a lot of iron shots that are going to be needed for next week,' he said. 'Taking spin off and been really in control of your spin and your trajectory.' Big-hitting Champ took advantage of just his sixth start of the season in Canada, going bogey-free for the second day running as he added to a 66 to his opening 62 to lead by three shots in the clubhouse on 12-under from Thorbjorn Olesen (70) and Richard Lee (64). Rory McIlroy was in the afternoon wave but after opening with a 71, he needed at least a three-under 67 to make the projected two-under cut.
