Shane Lowry in the mix as Rory McIlroy unravels at US PGA Championship
by Press Association · The42LAST UPDATE | 12 hrs ago
SHANE LOWRY LEADS the Irish challenge after Rory McIlroy finished with four successive bogeys at the US PGA Championship.
The Offalyman was among the late starters at Aronimink Golf Club in south-west Philadelphia as he looks to bounce back from a final round of 80 to drop out of Masters contention last month.
His two-under 68 was just the tonic, leaving him within one of the leaders towards the end of round 1.
Lowry got off to a poor start with a three-putt bogey at the first, but gained it back with a precise approach to within two feet of the sixth hole.
He couldn’t get up and down from a greenside bunker to save his par on the eighth before getting into red figures on the very next hole with a wonderful 39-yard chip-in for eagle, turning in 34 strokes.
Lowry sank a seven-foot putt at the 11th for two-under before, again, finding himself bunkered at a par-three for a bogey on 14.
He closed on a high, draining a 14-footer for birdie at the last and signing for a two-under 68.
That left him within one stroke of a group of five clubhouse leaders, which included former champion Martin Kaymer, his German compatriot Stephan Jaeger, Australian Min Woo Lee, Japan’s Ryo Hisatsune, and 21-year-old South African Aldrich Potgieter.
World number one Scottie Scheffler was well placed on two-under approaching the end of his round.
Earlier, McIlroy made a disappointing start to his week with a four-over-par opening round.
The 37-year-old, bidding to clinch back-to-back majors after defending his Masters title at Augusta last month, unravelled with five bogeys on his back nine to fall away from the clubhouse lead.
Starting from the 10th hole, McIlroy made a troubled start with an opening bogey, after having to hack out of the rough, but bounced straight back with a birdie at the 11th.
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From there, it was a run of 10 straight pars for McIlroy, who is chasing a seventh major title, which would take him past Nick Faldo’s tally and see him become the most successful European of the modern era.
His birdie putt on 18 fell agonisingly short as he bent double in anguish before he looked on in disbelief as his ball ran back to the front of the first as he made the turn at even par.
The two-time US PGA champion could not find the spark and he showed his frustration as a sloppy drive on the fourth resulted in a second bogey.
Again, he hit straight back by sinking a 31-foot putt, but it all fell apart from there, with inaccurate tee shots leading to four bogeys on the spin, which decimated his round.
McIlroy had huge support from the vast galleries following his eye-catching group, which also featured Jon Rahm and Jordan Spieth – the latter chasing a win here to complete the career grand slam.
Rahm bogeyed the opening 10th and was losing his battle with the daunting and vast greens. His approach to the first ran off the front, as a spectator bellowed: “Welcome to Aronimink, Jon!”
The Spaniard failed to get up and down as he made a second bogey, taking out his frustration by slamming a bottle into a bin on the second tee.
But things can turn in an instant, and they did for Rahm, whose pitch from 98 yards took two hops and landed in the hole to make his first-ever US PGA Championship eagle and draw him back to one under, which is where he finished.
It ignited the fans gathered around the second as Rahm, all smiles, plucked his ball out and tossed it into the galleries.
Spieth, whose last major win came at the 2017 Open, was the one making a move with three birdies on his back nine, but two late bogeys left him at one under.
In the group ahead, 2024 winner Xander Schauffele made the early running by birdieing three of his first four holes before finishing at two under.
The other two Irish golfers in the morning wave, Pádraig Harrington and Tom McKibbon, also finished on four-over.
Bryson DeChambeau, runner-up in the last two years, endured a torrid round as he posted a six-over par 76.
South Africa’s Garrick Higgo made a one-under 69, impressive given he was penalised two shots for being late to the tee.