Rory McIlroy had a rough day. His opening at The Open Championship was as difficult as it looked. Three missed putts from inside four feet and six bogeys. With a round that ended on its knees, literally.

Rory McIlroy carded a 2-over 72 in the first round at Royal Birkdale on Thursday, July 17. He finished at 8:43 p.m. after playing in the most difficult conditions of the day. He sits seven shots behind first-round leader Jackson Suber, the 115th-ranked American, who leads after round one.

Speaking after his round, McIlroy acknowledged the self-inflicted damage but remained measured.

"There were just too many stupid mistakes, but every time I made a stupid mistake, thankfully I made a birdie to sort of keep myself in it," he said, as reported by Golf Australia on July 17. "I am not too far away."

The conditions played a significant role. McIlroy teed off at 3:15 p.m. into stiffening winds from a more northerly direction off the sea. Morning starters played in near-calm conditions. By the time McIlroy finished, the greens, baked in the sun all day, were at their crustiest, which may partly explain the breakdown. He ranked 104th in the putting statistics in a 156-man field.

"If you look at the discrepancy between the scoring this morning and the scoring this afternoon, it looks like that's going to be flipped tomorrow with the conditions again," Mcllroy said. "Hopefully, I can take advantage of the more benign conditions in the morning and shoot one-under par and get back in it."

The low point came at the par-5 17th. He hooked his approach into the gallery, flew the green into a bunker, and then contorted his stance with one knee on the ground to splash out to eight feet. Only to miss the par putt for his sixth bogey.

He at least closed with something. A brilliant approach from 198 yards to five feet set up a birdie on 18 that drew roars of "Rory, Rory" from the grandstands.

The birdie kept him alive, and seven shots is a steep deficit. History makes the comeback harder to picture.

Rory McIlroy needs history on his side at Birkdale

Each of the past 26 Open champions has been within five shots of the lead after round one. McIlroy is seven back.

The last player to win from further behind after round one was Mark O'Meara in 1998, interestingly, also at Royal Birkdale.

The world No. 2 is playing a reduced schedule in 2026. This is just his sixth event since winning the Masters for the second straight year. A win that took his major tally to six. A win this week would tie him with Harry Vardon as the European player with the most majors in men's golf history.

McIlroy won his only Open Championship in 2014. He has plenty of ground to make up before that conversation becomes relevant again.

Can Rory McIlroy bounce back after a mistake-filled opening round at The Open Championship? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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Written by

Sneha Abraham

Edited by

Soheli Tarafdar