VIRGINIA WATER, England — Rory McIlroy misplaced the membership head on his 9-iron after which misplaced an opportunity to take the first-round lead by going out of bounds on the final gap in an eventful 5-under 67 on the BMW PGA Championship on Thursday.
The No. 3-ranked McIlroy was two strokes off the lead held by No. 363-ranked Matthew Baldwin in the flagship occasion on the European tour, having bounced again nicely from the ache of being denied victory at his house Irish Open final week.
McIlroy had already produced a uncommon back-handed putt subsequent to a water hazard to assist salvage a par at No. 8 by the point he overcame a weird incident on the par-5 No. 12, which noticed the pinnacle of his 9-iron detach from the shaft and fly down the golf green after McIlroy took his second shot.
The Northern Irishman stated he did not even see the ball attain the inexperienced and settle inside 7 ft from the pin to arrange one in all his seven birdies.
“It was a bit of a weird feeling,” McIlroy stated. “Obviously you're expecting the weight of the club to just pull through and there was nothing there.”
Have you ever seen this earlier than? 🤯
Rory McIlroy's membership head comes off after impression…#BMWPGA | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/eaF51JCvBy
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) September 19, 2024
McIlroy acquired the 9-iron mounted and had it again in the bag by the sixteenth gap, forward of two par 5s that full the West Course at Wentworth. He made par at No. 17 regardless of hooking his drive into the bushes however dropped a shot on the final when he hit his second shot to the correct of the inexperienced and into the bushes, the ball finally reaching a pathway that was OB.
A bogey dropped McIlroy out of a share of the lead on the time with Denmark's Niklas Norgaard (66), who received the British Masters this month for his first European tour title.
Baldwin was among the many afternoon starters and went one higher than Norgaard, with a tap-in birdie at No. 18 finishing a bogey-free 65.
A tie for twelfth on the Czech Masters final month and a tie for 18th on the British Masters was a return to kind for the unheralded Baldwin after 4 straight missed cuts throughout June and July.
“It was lovely,” the Englishman stated. “I feel like my game is pretty strong for a while, and to actually put it into a performance is nice.”
Thomas Detry, additionally enjoying in the afternoon, shot 66 to share second place with Norgaard.
McIlroy was enjoying 4 days after a runner-up end on the Irish Open to Rasmus Hojgaard, who closed with three straight birdies to beat the native hero on Sunday.
“The nice thing about disappointments is that if you have something in this next week, it's nice to keep busy and keep your mind focused on something else,” the 35-year-old McIlroy stated.
McIlroy was in a tie for fourth in a big group that contained fellow Ryder Cup gamers Shane Lowry and Robert MacIntyre, 2021 champion Billy Horschel in addition to Victor Perez of France, who additionally bogeyed No. 18 – after hitting his second into the water in entrance of the inexperienced – to drop out of the lead.
