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McIlroy opens with sizzling 62 in round 1 of Travelers

carl adamec, journal inquirer, manchester, conn.
·5 min read
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Jun. 24—CROMWELL — Rory McIlroy has been asked a lot of questions in recent weeks about PGA Tour members defecting to LIV Golf.

Perhaps his best responses have come on the course as the world's No. 2-ranked player is on top of his game.

McIlroy fired a bogey-free 8-under-par 62 Thursday to share the lead as play began this morning in the second round of the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands.

"I get asked questions, I answer questions, and I move on with my life," McIlroy said. "What the other guys do doesn't affect me. All I can do is go and try to play the best possible golf, be a good person, be a good dad, be a good husband. That's all I do. I try to stand up here and answer your questions truthfully and try to tell you what's on my mind.

"Sometimes that's to my detriment, I guess, in some ways. But I'd rather be honest and speak my mind than just stand up here and give you mundane answers that aren't indicative of how I am actually thinking and feeling about the whole thing."

J.T. Poston matched McIlroy's 62. Xander Schauffele and Martin Laird were one stroke back at 7-under 63. Patrick Cantlay, Charles Howell III, and Webb Simpson finished at 6-under 64.

McIlroy has been outspoken about his support of the PGA Tour since some top players — including major champions Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, and just this week Brooks Koepka — accepted nine-figure bonuses to join the Saudi Arabia-financed LIV Golf.

A year ago, the 33-year-old from Northern Ireland became the first international player to serve on the PGA Tour's policy board when he was elected PGA Tour player advisory council chairman.

He said he spent a good amount of time with Tour commissioner Jay Monahan on Tuesday and another half hour with him on Wednesday following Monahan's press conference here. McIlroy believes the changes that Monahan proposed for the Tour, including scheduling and prize money, will be effective.

"As Jay said, there's only one reason that the guys are going to the other side and it's because they have an opportunity to make more money, even though Scottie Scheffler has made $13 million this season and it's only June," McIlroy said "There's opportunities to make a lot of money here.

"But like everything always has been in golf, it has to be earned. I think we appreciate that as players and I think the people that watch us appreciate that. We all start at zero at the start of next week and we all go again."

He dismissed, though, that players on the Tour like himself have something to prove with their play.

"I just think it so happens that the most protective of the PGA Tour are the best players in the world right now," McIlroy said. "I'm in a good run of form. I'm playing well. Whether that gives me a little more confidence to speak up on certain issues, maybe. But I'm just going out there trying to play my game and trying to win some more tournaments."

In his last six Tour stops that started with a second-place showing at the Masters, McIlroy has five top-10 finishes.

He won the Canadian Open by two strokes over Justin Thomas two weeks ago with a final round 62. He then tied for fifth at the U.S. Open at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts as his 2-under 278 total left him four back of champ Matt Fitzpatrick.

Before arriving here he took a quick trip home to see his wife and daughter in Florida.

"I didn't hit any golf balls Monday and Tuesday," McIlroy said. "I flew back up her Tuesday, didn't come to the course, and then yesterday playing the pro-am in the rain wasn't really great preparation. I I played well at Brookline. I'm not going to lose it in two days. I knew my game was good.

"My energy levels are OK. I'm feeling a little under the weather, but it's just concentration at this point. I've got three more rounds left until I have a couple of weeks off to prepare for the Open Championship. I'm going to put everything into those three rounds."

McIlroy started on No. 10 and made the turn at 3-under 32. He birdied three of his final four holes, making a 47-foot putt on No. 7 and using a 332-yard drive on No. 9 to set the stage for a short chip and tap-in.

"It's like the anti-U.S. Open here," McIlroy said. "It's like U.S. Open rehab. You're like, 'Oh, I can actually make some birdies.' "

Poston also started on No. 10 and a run of five straight birdies had him at 6-under 29 as he made the turn. He'd add two birdies without a bogey the rest of the way.

"It was nice to finally put some good swings together, hit some good shots, and make some putts," Poston said. "I feel like my scores and my results may not have shown that the last few weeks or months, but I felt like I was getting close. I've been working hard at it. I guess today was kind of one of those days where it finally clicked a little bit."

Schauffele and Laird were also bogey free. Sixty-eight players broke par. Reigning Travelers champion Harris English opened with a 4-under 66.

For coverage of all sports in the JI's 18-town coverage area, plus updates on the UConn women's basketball team and head coach Geno Auriemma, follow Carl Adamec on Twitter: @CarlAdamec, Facebook: Carl Adamec, and Instagram: @CarlAdamec.