Rory McIlroy made his first-ever PGA Tour ace at the Travelers. Here’s why he threw the ball away

It’s exhausting to imagine it’s solely been 4 days since the end of the U.S. Open at Los Angeles Nation Membership, and but right here we’re, throughout the nation in Cromwell, Conn., preserving tempo with the PGA Tour schedule’s regular drumbeat on the Travelers Championship.

After a slender defeat in pursuit of his fifth main championship in LA, Rory McIlroy was among the many dozens of gamers who confirmed up at TPC River Highlands straight from the Open. No relaxation for the weary on Tour — and there’s nonetheless yet another main to arrange for. The Open Championship at Royal Liverpool is barely 4 weeks away.

Nonetheless, you need to surprise what sort of fatigue gamers like McIlroy are feeling after an extended, grueling week in California. His first-round of two-under 68 has him T46 — concerning the prime third of the sphere. However he’s a whopping eight pictures behind chief Denny McCarthy.

However regardless of McIlroy’s up-and-down day (5 birdies, 5 bogeys), he did handle to notch an accomplishment that he’s by no means accomplished earlier than: his first ace on the PGA Tour.

“As gap in ones go, I’ve had them up to now the place it has been like an okay shot and also you get a little bit fortunate. That was the perfect shot of the day that I hit,” McIlroy mentioned after his spherical. “Clearly a bonus for it to go within the gap, however it was actually cool. I performed fairly averagely up till that time. Felt like that gap in a single bought me going a little bit bit. Birdied the following couple holes after that and kind of bought me into the event a bit.”

The eighth gap at TPC River Highlands is a 214-yard par 3. McIlroy hit a towering 5-iron, which landed on the inexperienced and rolled immediately into the outlet.

Whereas McIlroy acknowledged the ace bought him going a bit, he is aware of the bogeys should be minimized if he’s going to have an opportunity to contend at a course which usually options ultra-low scoring.

“I don’t even know if I made 5 bogeys throughout the entire U.S. Open final week,” McIlroy mentioned. “I simply must — I believe I did, however I simply must tidy that up. Making 5 birdies and an eagle on the market can be adequate to be within the High 5. I simply want to chop out the errors.”

A number of extra pictures like that 5-iron will just do high-quality. And as for the hole-in-one ball?

“Threw it away,” McIlroy mentioned.

Wait, what?

“I’m not sentimental. I don’t care. I’d moderately have trophies than golf balls.”

McIlroy’s pursuit of this explicit trophy will proceed early Friday morning, the place he’ll tee it up at 7:35 a.m. ET alongside Tom Kim and Viktor Hovland in Spherical 2.

Golf.com Editor

As a four-year member of Columbia’s inaugural class of feminine varsity golfers, Jessica can out-birdie everybody on the masthead. She will out-hustle them within the workplace, too, the place she’s primarily answerable for producing each print and on-line options, and overseeing main particular tasks, resembling GOLF’s inaugural Type Is­sue, which debuted in February 2018. Her origi­nal interview sequence, “A Spherical With,” debuted in November of 2015, and appeared in each within the journal and in video kind on GOLF.com.