Houston Open: Rory Mcilroy five shots out of the advantage after the “pedestrian” start
Rory Mcilroy of Northern Ireland blamed a “pedestrian” beginning when he finished five shots out of the command after the first round of the Houston Open in Texas.
The world number two loaded a 70 opening round, hitting two birds and two trolleys to the Memorial Park route to leave him five shots outside the first joint leaders Keith Mitchell, Taylor Pendrith, Alejandro Tosti and Ryan Gerard.
Mcilroy, who hopes to complete a career Grand Slam winning the Masters next month, opted to play Houston for the first time since 2014 in preparation for Augusta.
“A little pedestrian I imagine is a good way to describe it,” Mcilroy said.
“I did some rescue at the beginning I needed and then I had some possibilities on the second nine I have not converted.
“Yes, a kind of history of two halves. I felt like myself climbing for most of the first nine and then I feel like I left the last nine a couple out there.”
The rain and the wind made the difficult conditions on the route while the darkness forced the game to be suspended at 19.28 local time with a number of players unable to finish the round.
