Rory McIlroy to put in extra putting work ahead of second round at Baltusrol
By Keith Jackson
Last Updated: 29/07/16 12:53pm
Rory McIlroy vowed to spend extra time on the practice putting green after a woeful performance on the first day of the PGA Championship.
McIlroy needed 35 putts to get round Baltusrol in stifling heat, and he failed to make a single birdie for only the fourth time in 115 rounds in major tournaments as he returned a disappointing four-over 74 which left him nine shots off the lead and facing a battle just to make the halfway cut.
The two-time PGA champion was wary of heat-induced fatigue and revealed he was heading back to his rented house to "chill out" before planning to return to practice his putting when temperatures dropped in the evening.
The 27-year-old struggled to contain his frustration at being unable to convert a number of birdie chances as his long game was in good order, but he feels confident of playing his way back into the tournament with an improved second round.
"I'll try to spend as much as I can," he said when asked how much work he would put in on his short game before teeing off at 6.45pm (BST) on Friday. "Obviously it's very hot out here, so I'll just go back to the house that we rented, chill out a little bit and maybe come back this evening and hit some putts when it cools off.
"I'll try to hit some putts and then maybe spend a bit of extra time on the putting green tomorrow, as well, and I'll try to do as much as I can and not wear myself out.
"I think first and foremost, I have to play a good round to get into the weekend - that's the first objective, and then go from there. It's good on the putting green, but it's just a matter of getting it from the putting green to the course. I think it's more of a mental thing, as well. Maybe that's why I need to be a little bit more assertive and not quite as tentative.
"I really struggled with the pace. They look much quicker than they are and two or three times, I had putts within 12 feet that were downhill and left them short.
"I was trying my hardest out there to make birdies, and I was giving myself chances in the last few holes, and didn't quite convert them. So I know my game is there, to keep giving myself chances. I'll stay as patient as I can and work as hard as I can and hopefully turn it around."
Baltusrol leaderboard
McIlroy missed chances from inside 12 feet at his first two holes, but his problems began when he flew the green with a wedge into the 13th green before duffing his chip and missing the par putt from eight feet.
"I was right in the middle of the fairway there with 120 yards to go after making a good up-and-down on the hole before, and I missed the green to make five," he added. "Then I followed that up with another bogey, and then from there, I was always just trying to chase a little bit.
"I knew I had the two par-fives (17 and 18) coming up on the last two holes of our first nine, so not to birdie those was disappointing after putting them in a position where I could make four.
"But I'm happy with my game from tee to green, and I'm driving the ball as well as I have, ever, I think. My iron play feels good, it's just, when I get on the greens, it's just a different story. I'll need to try and figure it out and try to shoot something in the mid 60s and get myself back into it."
