Rory McIlroy says the Irish Open has major championship-like difficulty despite the limited field

Amgen Irish Open Golf Championship 2024 - Day One - Source: Getty
Rory McIlroy during the openign round of the Irish Open (Image Source: Getty)

Rory McIlroy has compared the Irish Open's difficulty level to that of major championships. He said that the Royal County Down Championship Course was on par with major championship-level difficulty, but the infrastructure was holding it back from hosting the big events.

On Thursday, September 12, McIlroy carded 3-under 68 in the opening round of the 2024 Irish Open. He sank six birdies and three bogeys to finish T4 at two strokes behind the lead.

Following the first round, Rory McIlroy reflected on the difficulty level of the Royal Country Down. He said the course was quite difficult, although he found the Royal Troon more difficult.

"It's a major championship-calibre golf course," he said. "It's just unfortunate that we don't have the infrastructure around the golf course to host something like an Open because if we did, it definitely would be able to host an Open Championship.
It's just limited the amount of people you can get in here and logistically it doesn't quite make sense. But it's up there with the toughest courses that we play," he added.

The 35-year-old golfer was satisfied with his first-round performance. He said he controlled the ball flight well, and the results were showing after working on his swing for the last few weeks.

"It felt a little better," he added. "I've probably struggled a lot in left-to-right winds this year, so to sort of control my ball flight a bit and test it out there today was good to see that, you know, I was able to do it when I needed to."

When will Rory McIlroy tee off at the 2024 Irish Open, Round 2?

Rory McIlroy is grouped with Tom McKibbin and Vincent Norrman for the second round of the 2024 Irish Open. The trio will tee off on Friday, September 13, from the tenth tee at 8 a.m. local time.

McIlroy is tied for fourth at 4-under alongside Will Enefer, Marcus Armitage, Thriston Lawrence, and Filippo Celli. Todd Clements took the solo lead after shooting a 5-under 66. He carded five birdies, one eagle, and two bogeys in his round. Sami Välimäki and Alejandro Del Rey are tied for second, one stroke back.

The second round of the Irish Open will begin at 7:30 a.m. local time. Yannik Paul, Calum Hill, and Renato Paratore will start from the first tee, while Sebastian Friedrichsen, Laurie Canter, and David Ravetto will simultaneously tee off from the tenth hole.

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Edited by Shobhit Kukreti
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