The Open: Rory McIlroy's first-round fightback inspired by caddie
By Keith Jackson at Royal Birkdale
Last Updated: 21/07/17 11:40am
Rory McIlroy heaped praise on his caddie JP Fitzgerald for reviving his Open challenge during a difficult first round at Royal Birkdale.
McIlroy said "I didn't know where I was" as he bogeyed five of the first six holes, but a stern reminder of his talents from his long-time bag man got him back into a positive frame by the turn.
The world No 4 responded with four birdies over the back nine, including three over the last four holes, which got him back to within six shots of the lead as he salvaged a creditable one-over 71.
"JP, he reminded me who I was, basically he said, 'You're Rory McIlroy, what are you doing?'," said McIlroy, who has a mid-morning tee-time for the second round alongside Dustin Johnson and Charl Schwartzel.
"I said, 'Yeah' at that point and I mumbled and said, 'Whatever'. But it did, it definitely helped. That got me back in a positive frame of mind, so he did a great job.
"Thankfully he's not had to do it too often, but he's had to do it a few times and he's never afraid to do that. It helped a lot more than at other times because I needed something. It wasn't I couldn't look within myself, I was trying to look within myself. But JP kept me positive out there, so that was very much appreciated.
"Early on I was I was thinking, geez, here we go again, but I just needed to stay patient and stay with it. I didn't get angry out there at all and I didn't let my head drop too much. So I kept a good, positive attitude and it turned around for me. It was nice to see the putt on 18 go in and close it out with something really positive."
McIlroy also compared his attitude at the end of his round to the 2012 Ryder Cup at Medinah, when he and Ian Poulter won the crucial last match on the Saturday evening which gave Europe momentum to pull off a stunning come-from-behind victory against all the odds on the final day.
"Because of the way I started, I actually feel really positive," he added. "It's a bit like Ryder Cup at Medinah in 2012. We're 10-6 down on Saturday night but we feel like we were right in with a chance, because we won the last two points. It's sort of like that.
"Even though there's a lot of golf left, in other circumstances it might have been a disappointing day. But just with the way I finished, I feel really good about it."
