Rory McIlroy falls victim to Royal Troon’s bunkers at The Open Championship, struggles during Round 1
Royal Troon is infamous for its challenging bunkers, something Rory McIlroy is learning all too well during the first round of the Open Championship on Thursday (July 18). Through seven holes (at the time of writing), he has managed to break even, but his scoreline is a lot worse than it could be.
That's because he's fallen victim to those bunkers. There are a lot of them at the Open and early on, they are already ruining golfers' days.
McIlroy quite literally tried a wedge shot out of the bunker. It briefly worked, but he didn't get enough distance and it rolled back. He gained essentially two feet on the stroke, costing himself dearly.
McIlroy is far from the only player who has fallen victim to the bunkers and the general difficulty of Royal Troon at the Open. In fact, at the time of writing, 91 golfers had teed off. Just 14 of them are below par, with Alex Noren, Justin Thomas and Nicolai Hojgaard among eight tied with two under.
There are 61 golfers under par for the day as well, with Todd Hamilton having it the worst so far. Through the first 18, he's 11 over par. The Open is known as links golf every year, and it's a much more challenging form of golf.
Golfers like Rory McIlroy, have to be pitch-perfect. It rewards skill and not power, as a missed drive or shanked iron could be catastrophic. Many golfers are experiencing that as the Open rolls on on Thursday.
Brandel Chamblee discusses Rory McIlroy's Major failures
It's been a decade since Rory McIlroy last won a Major, something he's trying to do this weekend at the Open. He has seen his fair share of agonizing defeats in the time since, none more defeating than his US Open loss a month ago.
Brandel Chamblee said about this (via Golf.com):
“Why does Rory’s game deteriorate in the biggest moments? And, of course, those biggest moments are the major championships. He looks like he can hit every single shot in the game and run faster than anybody can run at the Wells Fargo, or the Canadian Open or regular PGA Tour events."
Chamblee cited his overall performances in Majors, noting that he's in the top 10 over half the time. But he believes that's due to the golfer being out of it at first and mounting comebacks when it matters less. He said:
"It begs the question, why? Why does his game deteriorate? Clearly, he’s good enough to get himself there, although I think his golf swing is not as good as it used to be from 2010-2014.”
Chamblee believes McIlroy has too much input, whether from his own research, coaches, etc., to perform well at the highest level.