Golf’s Big Names Struggle at Royal Troon
Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau, two of the world’s top golfers, had a disastrous day at the Royal Troon course in Scotland, shooting 7-over and 5-over respectively. The duo, who combined for a thrilling finish at the U.S. Open just a month ago, found themselves well off the pace on Thursday, with plenty of work ahead to get back in contention.
McIlroy’s round was marred by a series of mistakes, including a double-bogey on the par-3 8th and another on the 11th. He finished with bogeys on the 15th and 18th, leaving him 10 strokes off the lead. DeChambeau, who won the U.S. Open duel against McIlroy last month, stumbled from the start, bogeying his first hole and three of his first four. He managed to par his way through the back nine, but finished with a 76, eight strokes off the clubhouse lead.
The challenging conditions at Royal Troon, with spitting rain and winds of up to 23 miles per hour, proved to be too much for both players. “You play your practice rounds, you have a strategy that you think is going to help you get around the course, but then when you get a wind you haven’t played in, it starts to present different options and you start to think about maybe hitting a few clubs that you haven’t hit in practice,” McIlroy said. “Just one of those days where I just didn’t adapt well enough to the conditions.”
DeChambeau, who is not familiar with playing in rain, acknowledged that the conditions were difficult. “Yeah, it’s a difficult test out here. Something I’m not familiar with. I never grew up playing it, and not to say that that’s the reason; I finished eighth at St Andrews. I can do it when it’s warm and not windy,” he said.
Justin Thomas, who fought his way to a 3-under round with two birdies, held up as one of the few bright spots in the morning. Along with Scottie Scheffler, McIlroy and DeChambeau were two of the betting favorites heading into this week. Scheffler is part of Thursday’s afternoon wave, but it’s already clear that two of the game’s biggest names will have to scramble to make the weekend.
McIlroy and DeChambeau will need to regroup and refocus for Friday’s round. “All I need to focus on is tomorrow and try to make the cut,” McIlroy said. “That’s all I can focus on.” DeChambeau, meanwhile, remained optimistic, saying, “That’s golf, my man. It’s frustrating, but look, at the end of the day it’s golf, and I get to go relax and enjoy watching others play in this rain. I’m going to go figure it out.”
