Rory McIlroy was running a little hot when he came off the golf course after his opening round at East Lake, but even though his starting six-shot deficit to Scottie Scheffler is now 10, it wasn’t his golf that had him hot under the collar.
“Yeah, look, August in the south, geez, I’ve been coming back here for 12 years, so it’s to be expected. But yeah, it was hot and humid,” he said.
“Yeah, this week is all about just trying to conserve as much energy as possible. I think it’s going to get a little cooler at the weekend, which is nice.”
A slow start saw McIlroy reach the turn at +1, but three birdies in a bogey-free back nine saw him card a two-under 69 and despite the enormity of the challenge of reeling in a free-flowing Scheffler, he’s still clinging to hope that he can land a fourth FedEx Cup title.
“I’m happy with how I hung in there and had a good finish. When I saw Scottie had gotten to 14, I was like, oh, got to try to just hang on to the coattails a little bit,” he explained.
“Still feel like I’ve got a chance, and it was nice to finish the way I did.”
McIlroy has a great record at East Lake, but the golf course he’s facing this week is slightly different having been redesigned over the past year. But that’s not to say that it’s not to his liking anymore.
“I love the restoration,” he said. “I love the golf course. It’s probably six months away from being perfect just because of the firmness of the greens.
“But I’ve always liked Andrew Green’s work. I like what he did at Congressional, I like what he did at Oak Hill. I like some of the other things I haven’t been there physically but I’ve seen.
“I like that the ball repels off the greens. I like that it gives you options. I think a lot of these aprons, it really gives guys a chance to sort of shine and show how good their short games are because you can play all sorts of different chips and you can putt it, you can bump it, you can fly it and try to spin it. I love that side of it.
“I think he’s probably made it a little less penal off the tee just by clearing some of the trees, but I think he’s made it a little more penal around the greens. I think overall, I don’t think the course plays that much differently apart from the par-5, 14th, but I really like what he’s done, and I like golf courses that sort of stretch out the playing areas and expand the playing areas a little bit. I think he’s done a great job.”
McIlroy has been at the forefront of the PGA Tour/LIV debate right from the start, first as a champion for the PGA Tour, then as a voice of reason as he called for a truce and reconciliation of the tours, and his frustrations are growing as the negotiation process drags on.
PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan was unable to shed any further light on the situation in his press conference on Wednesday and McIlroy feels that the entire situation is detrimental to the game as a whole.
“I think anyone that cares about golf, I think has to be frustrated,” he said. “I think anyone that cares about the PGA TOUR has to be frustrated because we’re not putting forward the absolute best product that we can because — I get the argument that these guys left and that was their choice and whatever.
“I just think that it’s gone on long enough. We’ve got to try to — I mean, I think everyone is trying to find a solution. It’s just a solution is hard to get to.
“I go back to — even though I was on the wrong side of things, like the U.S. Open with Bryson and I, you’re only really going to get that four times a year at most. I think the game of golf deserves having those sort of things happen more than just four times a year.”
And he thinks that the window of opportunity is closing and, if an agreement isn’t reached soon, that the PIF will begin to look elsewhere.
“Yeah, I think if it doesn’t happen soon, then honestly, I think PIF and the Saudis are going to have to look at alternative options, right? I’d say that’s the next step in all this if something doesn’t get done,” he added.
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