Rory McIlroy’s misery began where it left off, as his journey through the treacherous Troon on Thursday morning proved as turbulent as his professional and personal life.
The Northern Irishman went to the 152nd Open Championship at Royal Troon looking to shake off the disappointment of the US Open and secure his first major victory in a decade.
However, McIlroy’s opening round of the final major tournament of 2024 did not go to plan, with a seven-over-par score dashing his hopes.
The 35-year-old, playing his first major tournament since his short sabbatical following the implosion of the US Open and the dramatic outcome of the divorce, endured tough times in Ayrshire.
McIlroy opened his quest to end his great drought with a bogey five – a sign of things to come. He pulled a stroke back at the third, but disaster struck at the eighth.
Rory McIlroy suffered a disastrous first round at the Open Championship on Thursday
He was one of the first victims of the infamous Postage Stamp hole, the calling card of Royal Troon.
Despite playing just 123 yards, the small green on the short par three is fatal. Miss and you’re in trouble – something McIlroy learned the hard way.
The four-time major winner found one of the deadly, steep bunkers to the right of the green and paid the price with his first attempt at escape, finding the putting surface – albeit briefly – before it rolled all the way back to its sandy grave. The error marked a double bogey for McIlroy and the beginning of the death knell of his round.
From there, there was no redemption. The links courses of the British Open are notorious for rarely yielding strokes and making it much harder to fight back.
Bogeys at the tenth and fifteenth positions and another double at the eleventh followed, sending McIlroy further down the leaderboard.
Further bunker problems on the 18th hole, this time in the form of sand traps along the fairway, gave him a seven-over lead.
After falling painfully short to Bryson DeChambeau last month, McIlroy stepped out of the spotlight to banish painful memories of his Pinehurst nightmare. But if his opening round is anything to go by, it’s clear that it still haunts him.
In the final round of last month’s major, McIlroy held a two-stroke lead after making three bogeys on the last five holes and missing two putts from a total distance of more than seven feet.
The Northern Irishman made an opening score from seven overs, prolonging his great misery
His briefly estranged wife Erica Stoll joined him at the Scottish Open last week
He was one of the first victims of the infamous Postage Stamp hole, the calling card of Royal Troon
DeChambeau left the course minutes after securing his victory in North Carolina. He wasn’t seen again until last week, when he was teeing off at The Renaissance Club, this time with his wife, Erica Stoll.
McIlroy’s heartbreak at the US Open may have been eased by the rekindling of his romance with his briefly estranged wife.
On the eve of the US Open, he announced that he was calling off his divorce from his wife of seven years and the mother of his daughter Poppy.
Just a month earlier, before the PGA Championship in May, McIlroy announced that he and Erica were separating because their marriage was “irretrievably broken.”
During their short-lived separation, the PGA Tour star was rumored to be hooking up with CBS Sports reporter Amanda Balionis, 38, with whom he was spotted embracing after giving an interview at the RBC Canadian Open at the Hamilton Golf and Country Club in Hamilton, Ontario.
But on the Tuesday before the tournament, McIlroy said in a statement: “There have been rumours about my personal life recently, which is unfortunate. Responding to every rumour is a fool’s game.
“Over the past few weeks, Erica and I have realized that our best future as a family is together. Thankfully, we have resolved our differences and are looking forward to a new beginning.”
He had planned to shake off his US Open heartbreak at the treacherous Royal Troon
McIlroy (left) dropped his divorce proceedings from Stoll (right) last month
McIlroy and CBS reporter Amanda Balionis had sparked rumors of a romance between the two, especially after fans noticed that her wedding ring was noticeably absent from recent photos (pictured with McIlroy at the Wells Fargo Championship on May 11)
McIlroy’s attorney Thomas Sasser filed a notice of voluntary dismissal on his behalf in Palm Beach County Superior Court on June 11, after he and Erica allegedly held secret meetings for a month at their $22 million Florida home in an attempt to save their marriage.
Last week, the couple were spotted in a rare sighting at a dinner in London with his Ryder Cup teammates and their spouses. The dinner marked one of the rare occasions McIlroy and Erica have been seen together since they got back together.
Although the four-time major winner has resolved his marital problems, it is not reflected on the golf course.
With Stoll expected to join her husband at a major championship for the first time since the reunion, she may have to offer him a shoulder to cry on.