Rory McIlroy said Jordan Spieth “was just trying to make sure that i was going to do the right thing”

Rory McIlroy said Jordan Spieth was “just trying to make sure he did the right thing.”

Rory McIlroy says he feels ‘comfortable’ after two crashes in strong first round at Sawgrass

Christopher Powers’ Rory McIlroy made no mistakes through eight holes Thursday morning. He started with three birdies in a row and had three more on Nos. 14, 16 and 17 (McIlroy started on the back nine), leaving the former Players champion at 6 under. A unique leader at the time. As fast as he could he jumped around the TPC sawgrass. RELATED: Rory McIlroy understands PGA Tour’s problems and has a solution

But all it takes is one loose putt on the par-4 18th at Sawgrass to break the mood. Even the guy in the leprechaun costume on the left side of the tee box wouldn’t have been able to hit McIlroy’s ball back into the fairway if it had been caught directly in the water to his left. Well, it probably doesn’t have a direct connection to water, so you’ve got a completely different problem.

McIlroy said his ball last crossed the ground somewhere between a red stake about 300 yards from the hole and a flock of birds perched on the edge of the fairway a few yards away. I was thinking. His playing partners Jordan Spieth and Viktor Hovland had doubts. As for the “last place we passed each other” at the event, this isn’t Hovland’s first rodeo. McIlroy allowed Spieth to tee off first, followed by a debate over whether to put it back or put it in the fairway.

Spieth was never afraid to talk about it, but he didn’t know what point he ended up crossing. Hovland’s caddy, Shay Knight, told McIlroy, “I’ve been through it, too,” indicating he agreed with McIlroy’s sentiments. What happened was the group moved forward and McIlroy fell into the fairway 293 yards to the hole. His high three-wood hit the green 60 feet from the hole, and he escaped with a two-putt bogey. Everyone seemed happy with how everything went. But seven holes later, Dropgate Part 2 came along, and this time the discussion was much more lively than what happened on tee box 18. On his par-4 seventh, McIlroy hit his tee shot again, this time on his PGA Tour, but on live television he hit the green first and then fell into the water. It looked like. McIlroy walked to what appeared to be an intersection, distanced himself two club lengths, and then inserted the ball. And then all hell began.

The question was whether McIlroy’s ball landed first to the right of the red line. McIlroy was adamant about it, which is why he received his cut. After arguing for 7 minutes, he suddenly lost his confidence. “I was positive that I saw him jump the red line,” he later said. “But someone comes along and thinks, well, that’s not true. So you say to yourself…it only makes you doubt. Again, I think it’s up to you to decide if you’re fully satisfied with your decision to see what you see.

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As with No. 18, in the end, the three of us came to a consensus on the spot. This time, McIlroy couldn’t get away with a bogey, simply missing it by 10 feet and cleaning up the rest for what could have been a fatal double-bogey six. On the final hole of the day, the par-5 ninth, he sank a 17-foot birdie putt for one of his two shots and finished with a 7-under 65 despite a waterball. A “take it” punch soon followed.

“It was disappointing that I couldn’t get that kind of up-and-down movement in the 7th, but maybe that’s why I pumped it up a little bit with my mini-fist in the 9th to make it feel like I hit a return shot like this. ” – he said. He said. . Hovland, who finished with a two-goal lead, declined to speak to the media. The same was true for Spieth, who finished with a one-point lead. McIlroy later said he had no problem handling the two situations in the 18th and seventh.

“I think Jordan was just trying to make sure I was doing the right thing,” McIlroy said. “So I was pretty sure my bullet went through where it dropped. It’s really, really difficult because there was no evidence on TV. I was adamant. But again, I think he was just trying to make sure I was doing the right thing. “I’ve been conservative on this issue anyway. I think at the end of the day, we’re all trying to protect ourselves and protect the field.” I can’t say it’s unnecessary. “I think he was just trying to make sure what happened was correct.”

McIlroy added that he considers himself one of the most conscientious golfers on tour when it comes to the rules. “If you feel like you’ve done something wrong, it’s going to weigh on your conscience for the rest of the tournament. I’m a big believer in karma, so if you do something wrong, you don’t feel bad about it. It’s going to get bad. Someday it’s going to bite you. “Obviously I’m not trying to do anything wrong, I’m just following the rules and doing the right thing, and I feel like I obviously did the same thing with these two waterfalls.

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McIlroy is currently tied for the lead with Xander Schaufel with less than seven points. He, Spieth and Hovland will be reunited.