ATLANTA • Rory McIlroy said playing without expectations, following the birth of his first child, had helped him rediscover some of his best form as he shot a six-under 64 in the opening round of the season-ending Tour Championship in Atlanta on Friday.
The Northern Irishman, who began the day in 12th at three under based on the FedExCup staggered scoring system, got his title defence off to a flying start just five days after his daughter Poppy was born and said he was surprised by how quickly he found his groove.
"Yeah, a little bit. You know, it just shows you golf is such a mental game and, if you come in with low expectations, that's always how I've played well," said the 31-year-old, who did not touch a club for four days.
"Whether I don't feel like my game is in a good place or I'm not the favourite coming into a tournament... I feel that's when I usually play my best and I can play with a bit of freedom, and that's what I did today."
He is fourth on nine under, four behind co-leaders Dustin Johnson (67) and Jon Rahm (65). As top seed in the season-long points standings, top-ranked Johnson started the day at 10 under and ended at 13 under alongside world No. 2 Rahm. Justin Thomas, the 2017 play-off champion, shot a 66 to be third on 11 under.
McIlroy, without a top-10 finish since the PGA Tour returned from a three-month coronavirus pandemic shutdown in June, had previously acknowledged he was distracted over the last few weeks.
He said he constantly kept thinking of his daughter during the first round. "It's like every three hours she's supposed to be fed, so I'm like, okay, there's a feeding coming up," he added, after finishing with three consecutive birdies at East Lake.
"But it's natural... that in between shots you think about other things, and obviously my mind has been very much on what's going on at home. But it's nice to have this little four or five hours to myself, concentrate on my game and get into this stuff."
The winner from the elite 30-player field will be crowned FedExCup champion and take home US$15 million (S$20.4 million).
REUTERS
