Rory McIlroy takes 'dead aim' aces en route to first-round 66 at AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am
3 Min Read
Written by Sean Martin
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Rory McIlroy has always been a master with the game’s longest club, ranking as arguably the world’s best driver throughout his career. Now he’s feeling more confident with the shorter clubs, which allows him to capitalize more often on his greatest strength.
His improved wedge play is part of his ongoing quest to become a more well-rounded player, not one who simply overpowers courses. And now it has allowed him to follow the advice of his sports psychologist, the legendary Dr. Bob Rotella, who has encouraged McIlroy to “take dead aim.”
That’s something that McIlroy has been hesitant to do before, even with the scoring clubs in his hands. A lack of trust was one reason he’d aim away from flags. Analytics were another. The data that has flooded the game over the past decade has encouraged players to select more conservative targets on their approach shots. It’s about playing the probabilities, hitting as many greens as possible and racking up birdie opportunities. But sometimes, as McIlroy showed Thursday, you must buck the insights from the data and trust your gut.
His 66 at Spyglass Hill included a 119-yard tee shot at the par-3 15th, his sixth hole of the day, that flew directly into the hole for an ace. He closed the round by hitting a 130-yard approach that landed an inch short of a hole location that was tucked behind a bunker. That final birdie closed a successful opening round at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He will finish the first day two strokes behind leader Russell Henley, who shot 64 at Spyglass Hill.

Rory McIlroy’s Round 1 highlights from AT&T Pebble Beach
“Sometimes because … I haven't been as confident with the wedges from that distance, I would play a little right or left of the pins and be a little more careful with my aim points,” McIlroy said, “where now if I'm feeling confident with my wedge swings and where I'm at with that, it's easier for me to take dead aim and try to hit it as close as possible.”
McIlroy was second in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee (+1.50) on Thursday after leading the field with a Driving Distance of 345.7 yards. He also was fifth in Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green (+2.44), hitting 14 of 18 greens. McIlroy is using a new model golf ball this week, the newest TaylorMade TP5, that launches slightly lower, which increases control, while spinning at a similar rate to his previous model.
McIlroy also has a slightly different golf swing from the last time he was seen on the PGA TOUR.
Thursday was his first round on the PGA TOUR since the TOUR Championship in September. He spent three weeks in the fall working solely indoors on swing changes. Not being able to see the ball flight allowed him to focus on his swing positions instead of the ball’s destination.
“I have a big shoulder turn so the club will probably always point right of the target for me,” McIlroy said Tuesday. “I just feel like over the past year it got a little bit too pronounced, so just trying to tease it back into position where it's a little more in line at the top.”
He also played a half-dozen times on the DP World Tour since East Lake, finishing in the top four in all but one of those starts. That included a victory at the DP World Tour Championship that led to his sixth Race to Dubai title.
He filled the final month of the year with recreational golf, playing Ohoopee Match Club, the Gil Hanse design in Georgia that ranks among his favorites (a new putter cover from the club now sits on his flatstick), visiting New Zealand and playing the member-member at Michael Jordan’s Grove XXIII. He also partnered with Scottie Scheffler to win The Showdown in Las Vegas. He only went about a week without touching a club, whereas he usually takes most of the month off.
“I think that kept me a little sharper,” McIlroy said. “I could hit the ground running when I got back into it.”
He did that Thursday.