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A16 sports
Friday 20 May 2022

McIlroy powers to a 65 for early lead at PGA Championship

ternoon, as the heat index and left him a 4-iron to the
crept toward 90 degrees green. The bigger concern
Fahrenheit (32.2 Celsius). was his leg. Woods has said
The difference between he has good days and bad
McIlroy and Woods was from a leg badly injured in
clear early in the round. his February 2021 car crash,
On the 461-yard 12th hole, and this didn't looked like a
Woods hit iron off the tee great one. Of equal con-
that left him 178 yards. Mc- cern was going into Friday
Ilroy pounded driver with a nine shots behind McIlroy
slight fade with the prevail- and likely having to fight to
ing breeze, leaving him 86 make the cut.
yards. The warmth — not oven
He hit lob wedge to a foot heat like the 2007 PGA in
for birdie. August — and mild wind
That was the start of four led to ideal scoring, though
straight birdies for McIlroy, Southern Hills still had
which included a 6-iron to enough defense.
25 feet for his longest bird- Only 17 of the 78 players
ie of the day at the par-3 from the morning wave
14th. broke par.
McIlroy made birdie on the "I don't think a major cham-
two par 5s from greenside pion here has ever been
Rory McIlroy, of North Ireland, watches his tee shot as Tiger Woods looks on, on the 17th hole bunkers, hitting a 3-iron double digits under par, so
during the first round of the PGA Championship golf tournament, Thursday, May 19, 2022, in Tulsa, both times on the 628-yard you know the scores aren't
Okla.
Associated Press 13th and the 665-yard fifth. going to go much further,"
He hit another big drive on Hoge said. "It's a grind out
By DOUG FERGUSON 2015. finished that off with some the tough par-4 second, here. If you get out of po-
AP Golf Writer It was just what McIlroy nice iron play and some leaving 7-iron to about 10 sition in the rough here, it's
TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Tiger needed as he tries to end nice putting." feet. That one felt like a bo- tough to control the golf
Woods made it sound as nearly eight years without Will Zalatoris and Pebble nus to him. ball around these greens
though Rory McIlroy played a major, many of those Beach winner Tom Hoge "You go out there and hit because they can get run-
a brand of golf with which chances doomed by bad each opened with a 66, driver a lot, and if you have ning off so fast. You just try
he wasn't familiar Thursday starts. This was his lowest while Matt Kuchar and a hot week, you have a hot to keep it simple."
in the PGA Championship. start to par since a 5-under Abraham Ancer were an- week and you're up there," One other part of South-
McIlroy looked free and 66 when he won the PGA other shot behind. Woods said. "The game ern Hills' history with seven
easy and saw only oppor- at Valhalla in 2014, the last McIlroy and Woods were is just different. It's much previous majors: Five of the
tunity at Southern Hills. He of his four majors. joined in the group by Jor- more aggressive now, and I champions had at least a
blasted his driver over trees "I think when your game is dan Spieth, who lacks only know that. But I was playing share of the 18-hole lead.
and into fairways, setting feeling like that, it's just a this major to complete the to my spots. If I would have Xander Schauffele was in
up some of his seven birdies matter of going out there career Grand Slam and ar- hit the ball solidly on those the group at 68, while Tony
that carried him to a 5-un- and really sticking to your rived in Tulsa with his game two holes and put the ball Finau was among those at
der 65 and an early one- game plan, executing as in good form. But a series in the fairway, I would have 69.
shot lead. well as you possibly can of missed birdie chances been fine." John Daly tried to revive
Woods picked his spots and and just sort of staying in was followed by a series of He was speaking of No. 4, some memories at age 56
was never terribly crisp on a your own little world," McIl- missed par putts, and Spi- where he put iron in the and with a beard longer
right leg he said felt worse roy said. eth never quite recovered. rough and McIlroy hit a 327- than any rough at South-
than it did at the Masters "I feel like this course, it lets He had a late birdie and yard drive up the hill and ern Hills. He opened with a
last month. He fell apart in you be pretty aggressive saved par on his final hole into the wind that left him 67 in 2007 and was 2 under
the middle of his round and off the tee if you want to at No. 9 for a 72. a flip wedge to the green through 10 holes until fad-
at the end, finishing with be, so I hit quite a lot of driv- Masters champion Scot- (he missed an 8-foot putt); ing at the end with four bo-
two bogeys for a 74 and his ers out there and took ad- tie Scheffler was among and the ninth hole, when geys over his last five holes
worst start to a PGA since vantage of my length and those who played in the af- Woods' tee shot hit a tree for a 72.q