Even Scottie Scheffler had to give Rory McIlroy props for his improbable birdie on the 18th hole, which is a feat in and of itself considering how the former played one round with Tiger Woods and changed his approach.
On the closing hole of the opening round, McIlroy discovered himself trapped in the sand with a frustrated expression as he plotted his next shot. Eventually, the golfer decided to chip toward the putting surface, hoping to position it nearby for a birdie opportunity.
After mapping out his strategy, McIlroy struck the ball poorly, launching it beyond the green and into the spectator stands behind it. Following a resounding impact, the ball gradually trickled back onto the green and came to rest within manageable distance for the player, enabling him to capitalize with his putter.
The Northern Irish golfer then confidently drained the putt to complete his round at four-under for the day, securing a T8 position. Observing the entire sequence unfold, Scheffler revealed his thoughts during the moment, confessing he was pulling for McIlroy to catch a break.
“I have never rooted so hard for somebody’s ball to come back — outside of my partner at a team event — because we’re walking 18 and [Golf Channel announcer Jim “Bones” Mackay] told us they’re going to blow it any second,” Scheffler said to the Golf Channel after the fact.
“And so I watch his ball fly toward the grandstand and I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, we’ve got no way of finishing this thing,’ and so I was relieved when I saw it come back on the green so we can get done.”
McIlroy’s stunning save at the end was a highlight, with the 29 year old golfer sharing his strategy and admitting that his wedge shots were “terrible”. He also noted how the weather conditions could have affected his game.
“The winds with these storms coming in, it was swirling pretty good, and it got us on 10, it got us on 12, and then it kind of died down a little bit, and we were able to kind of hit a good one in there into 15, another one pin high on 17,” he elaborated.
“So once we kind of got something with the wind, they got a little bit sharper.”
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Scheffler’s reaction to McIlroy’s unlikely shot showcased his character on the green, particularly after learning from Woods to keep up the intensity. Even though they only played one round together, Woods’ influence on Scheffler was evident.
“I’ve only played one round of tournament golf with Tiger Woods, and it completely changed the way I look at how I play tournaments,” he confessed.
“I can’t tell you the look on his face when we got to the 1st green, and I look over, and we’re in 20th place, kind of playing, yada, yada, yada, and I look over and this guy is just locked in, and I was taken aback. I was like, ‘Holy smokes.'”.
“I’m like, ‘This is incredible. I’ve never seen anything like this before in my life.'”.
