Rory McIlroy needed a 30-yard pitch-in from the nasty stuff and an 8-foot birdie putt in near darkness, but when his first round at the U.S.
local time, he pumped his right fist toward the few remaining fans who stuck around.
Only 17 times over these 83 total rounds has he shot higher than he did after the first round.
McIlroy was short, for him, when asked to describe his Round 1 woes on Wednesday.
“Probably just putting a little too much pressure on myself, playing too carefully, being a little tentative.
Then things got wobbly — he bogeyed 10, birdied 12, then bogeyed 13 and 16 to sit at even.
“The birdie is awesome,” he said after the round.