Rory McIlroy was left undone by Muirfield Village's closing hole as he slipped from three under to an opening level-par 72 after day one of the Memorial Tournament.
McIlroy is playing in his 12th Memorial and he is yet to win one but his round on Thursday was going very smoothly up until the 18th tee. He spoke in his pre-tournament press conference about feeling particularly uncomfortable over the ball but he was 7th in Strokes Gained: Off The Tee and his all-round game was on song up until the last.
There he pushed his tee shot, only to find an impossible spot on the side of the bunker. He was only able to advance it a few yards in the rough and he then got a flier to a horrible spot behind Muirfield Village's iconic green.
He then needed the most precise of flop shots but got too much of the ball and, from a sticky spot past the pin, he was unable to get it up and down.
So, after four birdies and just the one bogey, he would eventually tap in for a seven and a 72.
Davis Riley led the way after day one with a five-under 67 with England's Matt Wallace a shot back. McIlroy's playing partners Jordan Spieth (69) and Tyrrell Hatton (71) both finished the day in red figures.
18th hole is one to forget today for Rory Mcilroy.+550 live to win on the 16th tee box.📉+1600 after a triple bogey 7 on the 18th. @DKSportsbook pic.twitter.com/9iYsGNSZiSJune 1, 2023
