McIlroy laments putting problems after being upstaged in Australian Open first round
Reigning Masters champion Rory McIlroy found himself battling ‘tricky’ Royal Melbourne greens in the opening round of the Australian Open.
Rory McIlroy says he will need to “putt better” if he’s to win the Australian Open for a second time after an opening round of one-over 72 at Royal Melbourne on Thursday.
Huge galleries followed the morning group of Mcllroy and Australian pair Adam Scott and Min Woo Lee, who both shot rounds of two-under 69 to upstage the world No.2 and reigning Masters champion.
“I felt like I could have shot under par or shot something in the 60s,” McIlroy said after a round that included six bogeys and five birdies.
“I need to putt better. I could feel myself struggling on the greens a little bit (in practice rounds) on Tuesday and Wednesday just to see reads.
“They’re quite tricky to read in spots, so I struggled with the putting early on today.
“I holed some good ones. I think I was better from outside 25 feet than I was from inside five, so (I’ll) work on that a little bit.
“I just need to limit the mistakes a little bit but it felt OK. It was good to get one round done.”
The winner of the 2013 edition of the tournament, McIlroy was impressed by the big crowd that turned up to watch his group, which teed off at 7.05am (AEDT).
“It was great. It was a wonderful atmosphere to play in,” the 36-year-old Northern Irishman said.
“Playing with Adam and Min Woo too, it was unbelievable. It was really cool to see how many people were lining the fairways and framing the greens.
“The welcome has been so warm. It’s been a pleasure to be here and hopefully I can just play a little bit better over the next three days.”
Queenslander Elvis Smylie shot a six-under 65 on the par-71 layout to hold a share of the lead after round one with New Zealand’s Ryan Fox and Mexico’s Carlos Ortiz.
“It was really solid round,” Smylie said.
“I felt like I did a good job at using my creativity and my imagination with flighting a lot of really nice shots, and then always making sure I was leaving it (the ball) on the right side of the hole.
“I embrace days like today. I think I belong, and I know that and I believe that, so I’m just happy that I’m able to showcase that on a stage like this one.”
Smylie’s fellow Queenslander Cam Smith, who missed the cut at last week’s Australian PGA Championship in Brisbane, shot a one-under 71 on Thursday.
“I feel like I did pretty good today,” LIV star Smith said.
“I feel like I played pretty solid, made all the putts I was supposed to make and I probably left a couple out there, but it is what it is.”
Originally published as McIlroy laments putting problems after being upstaged in Australian Open first round
Elvis all Smylies after taking equal lead at Aussie Open
