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Rory McIlroy is competing at the Truist Championship in Philadelphia this week. After the culmination of Round 1, he is placed T25 with a total score of 4-under.
McIlroy had arrived at the Wissahickon Course on Thursday (May 8) as the defending champion. He posted six birdies and two bogeys to score 4-under 66 on the 70-par course.
The World no. 2 had reportedly mentioned in the press interview on Wednesday (May 7) that his strategy heading into the Truist Championship this week was to "driver, bomb it and then figure it out from there". After his opening round on Thursday (May 8), he was asked how that game plan worked out for him.
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"I think it worked out fine. I drove the ball pretty well. I missed it in a couple of spots but was sort of able to get away with it. The mistakes I made mostly were from around the greens, the three-putt on 12 and then making 6 at 15," he answered via ASAP Text.
The Truist Championship was Rory McIlroy's first individual competitive appearance post his Masters victory last month. The Northern Irishman spoke about his performance and the improvement he would want to make in the upcoming rounds.
"Apart from that, I played pretty good. I felt like I was a little rusty out there, just hadn't played in a week and I hadn't really done a ton of practice, especially like on and around the greens. I certainly can tidy a few things up, but overall a decent day,"
"So it's an important week for me" - Rory McIlroy
After Rory McIlroy's admission of being slightly "rusty" in the opening round of the Truist Championship this week, he was asked whether that changed his approach for the event, especially ahead of the PGA Championship, and how he would view his result this week.
"Look, to me, this is -- I don't want to diminish this tournament and this championship, but to me, with everything that's happened over the past couple of weeks, this was always going to be a great prep week for me to see where my game was and sort of refine a few things," McIlroy replied via ASAP Text.
However, the ace golfer clarified that he was still aiming to defend his title at the Truist Championship this week.
"I still want to play well, and I still want to have a chance to win the tournament, but I'll have a really -- a much better gauge of where my game is going into next week after these four days than I would have had if I hadn't had played or if I just spent the week at home practicing. So it's an important week for me,"
The PGA Championship will take place next week at the Quail Hollow Golf and Country Club in Charlotte.
