WATCH: Rory McIlroy Makes Triple Bogey In Nightmare Finish At Muirfield Village

Rory McIlroy saw a great opening round turn to something altogether more ordinary after a tough finish in Ohio

Rory McIlroy
McIlroy on his way to the closing seven
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Mark Townsend
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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.

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Mark Townsend
Mark Townsend
Contributing editor

Mark has worked in golf for over 20 years having started off his journalistic life at the Press Association and BBC Sport before moving to Sky Sports where he became their golf editor on skysports.com. He then worked at National Club Golfer and Lady Golfer where he was the deputy editor and he has interviewed many of the leading names in the game, both male and female, ghosted columns for the likes of Robert Rock, Charley Hull and Dame Laura Davies, as well as playing the vast majority of our Top 100 GB&I courses. He loves links golf with a particular love of Royal Dornoch and Kingsbarns. He is now a freelance, also working for the PGA and Robert Rock. Loves tour golf, both men and women and he remains the long-standing owner of an horrific short game. He plays at Moortown with a handicap of 6.

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