Rory McIlroy authors vintage performance in opening 65 at PGA

TULSA, Okla. – Many consider Southern Hills’ 12th the best hole on the property. Its fairway turns left around a bunker before diving down to a green protected by the creek that runs throughout the course. The rolling topography and subtle, but scenic, hazard make No. 12 memorable.

The PGA Championship’s headliners arrived there shortly before 9 a.m., while the weather was still cool and a gentle breeze rustled through the trees. Tiger Woods was already under par after an opening birdie that sent the swelling gallery’s collective imagination preparing for a historic Sunday. Woods, leaning on the formula that netted him 15 major championships, hit iron off the 12th tee to ensure he was in the fairway.

Rory McIlroy, whose eight years without a major are full of frustrating first rounds, wasn’t interested in the safe play. Though he acknowledged Tuesday that Woods’ conservative approach cuts down on the costly mistakes that have marred McIlroy’s major scorecards in recent years, he wasn’t intent on emulating it. Not this week, at least. The reimagined Southern Hills gives McIlroy room to wield his greatest weapon. And he did.

Despite the creek that runs down the left side of No. 12, McIlroy sent his drive sailing over the bunker that guards the corner of the dogleg. The 354-yard tee shot left him just 86 yards to the green on the 461-yard hole. McIlroy’s wedge play often ignites angst, but he stuffed this one to 2 feet.

Not exactly the way Perry Maxwell drew it up. But such is the modern game.

“I was playing to my spots, and those guys obviously have a different game plan. It's just different,” said Woods, who parred 12 after hitting his 195-yard approach to 20 feet. “The game is played differently now, and it’s very aggressive.”

Few use that strategy better than McIlroy, who seems capable of winning tournaments with his driver alone. Only a handful of players can keep up with him when he’s driving it his best, which he did Thursday, looking like the player who won four majors from 2011-14, including a couple of eight-shot routes.

McIlroy shot 65 on Thursday to take the first-round lead at the PGA Championship, averaging 331.6 yards on all tee shots to lead the field in that metric. His two measured drives traveled 369 and 378 drives. And, to top it off, he missed just four fairways. Throw in his final-round 64 en route to a runner-up at Augusta National and McIlroy is now 13 under par in his last two major rounds.

It’s just the fifth time that a player has shot lower than 130 in consecutive major rounds. Front-runners have a good history at Southern Hills, as well.

The eventual winner in each of the seven previous majors at Southern Hills (four PGAs, three U.S. Opens) has held at least a share of the lead after 26 of the 28 rounds. Every major winner at Southern Hills has held at least a share of the lead after 36 and 54 holes.

McIlroy’s birdie at 12 was part of four in a row as he opened with a 4-under 31 on Southern Hills’ back nine. He added two more birdies at Nos. 2 and 5 to put some history within reach, but bogeyed two of the next three holes. He capped the round by holing a 19-foot birdie putt on Southern Hills’ ninth hole.

The 65 was McIlroy’s lowest opening round in a major since the 2011 U.S. Open, which was his first victory in a major.

“I think when your game is feeling like that, it's just a matter of going out there and really sticking to your game plan, executing as well as you possibly can, and just sort of staying in your own little world,” McIlroy said. “I did that really well today. It was nice to get off to that good start and sorta keep it going.

“I feel like this course, it lets you be pretty aggressive off the tee if you want to be, so I hit quite a lot of drivers out there and took advantage of my length and finished that off with some nice iron play and some nice putting.”

Southern Hills’ two par-5s each played more than 630 yards but McIlroy birdied both after reaching a greenside bunker in two shots. He was 4 under on the par-4s, as well. Both his bogeys came on the front nine’s pair of par-3s, but he also birdied the 221-yard 14th after hitting a 6-iron to 25 feet.

When Woods won here 15 years ago, he tactically navigated his way around, leaning heavily on his 2-iron stinger to keep his ball out of the thick Bermudagrass rough. That was before Gil Hanse renovated the course to bring it back to its roots. Fairways were widened and trees were removed. The rough is a more manageable 2 inches this week, bringing the dreaded flyer into play while also giving players an opportunity to execute recovery shots.

McIlroy’s play was the highlight of Thursday’s marquee group. Woods struggled to a 74 while Jordan Spieth, who’s trying to complete the career Grand Slam this week, shot 72. McIlroy said the wider fairways made the fans feel farther away but he was excited to perform in front of the day’s biggest crowd.

“It's always a cool group to be a part of,” he said.

He put on a show Thursday.