Hard-charging Rory makes a game of it

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 18: A late charge by Irishman Rory McIlroy saw the PGA Grand Slam tied at the top after the first round.

McIlroy clawed back five shots on co-leader Keegan Bradley in the last seven holes with a mighty display of power hitting and precision at the Port Royal Golf Course.

The young maestro was not phased by the slanting rain that shifted across Port Royal in the afternoon and his back nine included four birdies and a priceless par three at the tricky 16th.

He said: “I hit the ball really well. I gave myself so many chances on the front nine and didn’t really make anything.

“I started to hole a few putts on the back nine but played very, very well.

“It was a bonus to par 16 and birdie 17 in that bad weather so I made up a few shots there.”

McIlroy had been eclipsed for most of the day by Bradley as he racked up two eagles during a blistering front nine of 30.

A bogey at the first hole did little to dent the American’s confidence as Bradley went on to play almost faultless golf.

Referring to the eagle he picked up at the 7th he said: “This is about the best shot I’ve ever hit in my life.

“It was a great day. I got off to a really good start and I kind of slowed down on the back, but actually still played very well.

“The two putts I missed I thought could have gone in personally, but it was still a lot of fun.”

Bradley had led the field for much of the day, and even had a chance to go back to one up on the 18th.

But the putt did not drop and McIlroy and Bradley each ended the first round at four under par setting up the prospect of a mouthwatering second round climax today. Unfortunately crowd favourite Darren Clarke had a round he would rather forget.

The Open Champion summed up his six-over par 77 quite simply afterwards.

“It was crap,” he candidly admitted.

“I didn’t come all the way here to play that bad. So I’m obviously disappointed.

“You know, as I told you the other day, I’ve just been struggling with my swing. It’s not quite what I want to do, and I’m struggling with my ball striking at the moment. “So if you mix that with putting equally as bad, that usually doesn’t add up to a good score.

“So I’ll try to find the answer in the bottom of a glass this evening and see how that works. “

South African Charl Schwartzel was right in contention at the halfway point. He played smart, steady golf and did not drop a shot in the front nine.

But a poor back nine and a triple bogey at the 16th did for the Masters Champion.

He said: “It’s disappointing. I thought I actually played really well up until 12.

“I hardly missed a shot. I didn’t make any putts on the greens and then I three putted 12 and missed a short one on 13 and 14.

“And then another three putt on 16. That was frustrating. I’m pretty disappointed. I thought I played much better.”

The South African ended what started out as a very promising round with a three over par 74.