“Pebble was a bit of a write-off” - Rory McIlroy opens up on his 2024 PGA Tour season

Rory McIlroy recently spoke with the media and discussed his start to the 2024 PGA Tour season. The Northern Irish golfer began the year with an underwhelming performance at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, where he had to settle for a tie for 66th place.

On Thursday, February 15, in the opening round of the Genesis Invitational, he continued his disappointing play. Nevertheless, as the event went on, the current World No. 2 improved his performance, and after the first three rounds, tied for 27th place.

McIlroy opened up about his performance and his outing on the 2024 PGA Tour season on Saturday, February 17, and said (via PGA Tour):

“Pebble was a bit of a write-off. It was a very strange round on that first day, going from 6-under to 1-under really quickly. And then yeah, it was just sort of—I don't know, I wouldn't say—not that I wasn't giving it my all, but it was just sort of one of those weeks where... I wasn't fully in it, I guess."

Adding to his statement, McIlroy mentioned that he worked with his coach, Michael Bannon, on his game last week and that it showed in his success at The Genesis Invitational. He continued, saying:

“I did some good work last week. My coach, Michael Bannon, came over and I felt pretty good about everything this week, even though obviously not quite in contention. Game's feeling pretty good."

Rory McIlroy shot a round of 69 at The Genesis Invitational on Saturday and finished with a total score of under 4 — ten strokes behind third-round leader, Patrick Cantlay. The Northern Irish golfer shot five birdies and three bogeys to score 2-under-69.

McIlroy struggled in the opening round, though, finishing with a 3-over par 74 after making four birdies, two bogeys, and two double bogeys. However, he performed well in the second round and carded three birdies and an eagle to score 5-under par 66.

When will Rory McIlroy tee off on Sunday at The Genesis Invitational 2024?

Rory McIlroy will tee off at 11:45 a.m. ET with Nick Taylor on the first tee hole at the Riviera Country Club for the final round of The Genesis Invitational 2024 on Sunday, February 18. Emiliano Grillo will take the first shot of the day on Sunday at 9:55 a.m. ET

Here are the final round tee times of The Genesis Invitational 2024 (all-time in ET):

9:55 a.m. Emiliano Grillo
10:00 a.m. Charley Hoffman, Chase Johnson
10:10 a.m. Andrew Putnam, Nicolai Hojgaard
10:20 a.m. Gary Woodland, Lee Hodges
10:30 a.m. Cam Davis, Si Woo Kim
10:40 a.m. Collin Morikawa, Sahith Theegala
10:50 a.m. Denny McCarthy, Sungjae Im
11:00 a.m. Rickie Fowler, Tom Kim
11:10 a.m. Ludvig Aberg, Brian Harman
11:20 a.m. Tommy Fleetwood, Taylor Moore
11:35 a.m. Viktor Hovland, Ben An
11:45 a.m. Rory McIlroy, Nick Taylor
11:55 a.m. Seamus Power, Sam Burns
12:05 p.m. Max Homa, Scottie Scheffler
12:15 p.m. Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Brendon Todd
12:25 p.m. Russell Henley, Kurt Kitayama
12:35 p.m. Tony Finau, Lucas Glover
12:45 p.m. Adam Scott, Cameron Young
12:55 p.m. Eric Cole, Ben Griffin
1:05 p.m. Tom Hoge, Mackenzie Hughes
1:20 p.m. Adam Hadwin, Beau Hossler
1:31 p.m. Corey Conners, Adam Svensson
1:42 p.m. J.T. Poston, Hideki Matsuyama
1:53 p.m. Harris English, Jason Day
2:04 p.m. Will Zalatoris, Luke List
2:15 p.m. Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele