World number two Rory McIlroy put his struggles on day one of The Players down to a lack of practice.
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The Northern Irishman is playing in his first event as a married man after his recent nuptials with Erica Stoll, but struggled all afternoon for any bit of consistency.
Playing alongside Americans Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas and with his new TayloraMade clubs and ball, McIlroy made two doubles and a further two bogeys at the prestigious event in Florida.
‘Yeah, what can I say,’ said the four-time Major winner.
‘I was a little rusty out there.
‘I feel like I turned a 75 or a 76 into a 73, so it wasn’t all bad. But yeah, I didn’t hit enough fairways, didn’t hit enough greens. Felt like I was scrambling all day. But I scrambled pretty well, and I birdied two of the last three holes to make it somewhat respectable.’
McIlroy’s first double came under strange circumstances on the 10th hole – an error which he put down to a lapse in concentration.
‘Yeah, it was just a bit of a loss of concentration,’ said the Northern Irishman.
‘I went to tap one in, and it came straight left off the putter, and thought to myself, I’d better mark the next one.
‘Yeah, just one of those things. It was definitely a cheap shot given away, but as I said, just to make a couple coming in was nice. At least gives me a chance to go out and shoot a good one tomorrow and get myself in the mix.’
World number Johnson finished -1, with Thomas matching McIlroy’s 73.
The eventful round sees McIlroy six shots off the mark set by William McGirt and Mackenzie Hughes, who both fired 67s on Thursday.
