Rory McIlroy theory emerges at PGA Championship after rough start
Rory McIlroy did not speak to the media after his opening round at the PGA Championship as the world No.2's driving deserted him in a three-over-par round of 74
Rory McIlroy kept silent with the press following his challenging first round at the PGA Championship, as speculation swirled that his recent Masters "turmoil" might be behind his substandard performance.
After completing the career grand slam at Augusta last month, McIlroy arrived at Quail Hollow as the top pick, returning to the site of his inaugural PGA Tour victory. Earlier in the week, he declared himself the "same person" unburdened and even had some choice words for Bryson DeChambeau about their final round showdown.
However, McIlroy's game faltered, delivering his poorest performance at the Charlotte, North Carolina course since 2011, hitting only four fairways and ending up with a three-over-par 74. This downturn came despite Scottie Scheffler - who hit out at the course over 'mud balls' - placing McIlroy's tee accuracy above even that of Tiger Woods.
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Former Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley weighed in on Sky Sports, saying: "There's been a lot of turmoil this last month - all positive turmoil with his success [at the Masters].
"He's had a lot of fun, let's just say, comes here he's in great form - I did a couple of practice rounds with him - and a really happy place. Of course he is, he won the Grand Slam - a lifelong achievement for every single one of these players."
"But is that a great place to then reset? Is he in that place mentally? It's really difficult when you're coming off such a high. Enjoying all of the success of the last month maybe is not conducive to putting him in the right mindset. Nonetheless, he's not out of this tournament. He'll come at it again, and maybe now he's had a bad score that kickstarts him over the next couple days."
McIlroy found himself in elite company, teeing off alongside Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele - but the world's top trio of players each stumbled with double-bogeys on the infamous 16th hole in a stunning upset.
Scheffler, who bounced back to finish at two-under, quipped post-round: "I kept the honor with making a double on a hole, and I think that will probably be the first and last time I do that in my career!".
The humorous moment didn't overshadow his frustration with 'mud balls', as the tricky conditions on the 16th penalized both him and Schauffele heavily.
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He expressed his displeasure strongly: "When you think about the purest test of golf, I don't personally think that hitting the ball in the middle of the fairway you should get punished for.
"In golf, there's enough luck throughout a 72-hole tournament that I don't think the story should be whether or not the ball is played up or down. When I look at golf tournaments, I want the purest, fairest test of golf, and in my opinion maybe the ball today should have been played up."
