The proceedings at the BMW Championship are underway. One of the favorites to win the tournament is former World No.1, Rory McIlroy. The Irish golfer had said in the lead-up to the tournament that the golf course played host to the tournament “is a little more up my alley” considering its length and room off the tee. While it remains to be seen whether this indeed could be his tournament, McIlroy made his intentions clear right from the start, hitting an astonishing 371 yards off the tee.
How did Rory McIlroy McIlroy hit such a long shot?
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McIlroy made a bright start at the Championship, scoring 4-under par to be placed T7 in the standings. At the 11th hole, McIlroy dished out a 371-yard drive at the 4-par hole. Take a look.
Fans had all kinds of reactions on social media.
While some praised the quality of the shot, others seemed to be bothered more about his decisions following the tee.
Was sitting at the trophy club above that 6th hole, the entire gallery stopped and was dumbfounded at that drive.
— playas club (@poppateez) August 19, 2022
It’s the “Oh my God!” at 12 seconds for me! 😂
— ASmoo 🇺🇦 (@_Smytheson) August 19, 2022
Hit it in the water on a par 3 then missed a 7 foot double bogey putt is how he did it in case you were wondering.
— jonas (@jjonas912) August 19, 2022
Great drive. But Straka actually put himself in a much better spot for their second shots. Obviously because it took Rory two shots to get on the green from there. That 30-40 yards extra isn’t always worth it
— WyoOkc24 (@KyleDieterich) August 19, 2022
Did McIlroy have a good first round?
Despite hitting a mammoth range shot on the 11th, McIlroy dropped the ball in the sand bunker in his next shot, ultimately settling for a par. In some ways, it summed up the story for McIlroy, who had a perfect outing on most holes, only to be bogged down by a triple-bogey at the 15th.
“Started really well, made some good things. Yeah, just that one tee shot on 15. I felt like I had probably half a club too much, so I was trying to hit like a cut in there over the water, and I just double-crossed it and then compounded that by the three-putt,” McIlroy stated at the end of the day’s play.
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The Irish golfer admitted it took him some time to regain his touch after coming off a two-week break post-Open Championship. “I played much better today than I did last week, so I have to take the positives,” he said. “I still played a decent round of golf; 3 under out there this afternoon was pretty good. So I’ve just got to reset tonight and forget about that swing on 15 and go again tomorrow.”
Indeed, his performance was a stark improvement from last week, when he missed the cut at the St. Jude Championship. He finished the round at 3-under par at T7. It remains to be seen whether he can catch up to others in the subsequent rounds – he surely can if he keeps driving 350+ yards off the tee!
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Watch this story: The exotic car collection of Rory McIlroy