Rory McIlroy Steals a 68 with a Flurry of Late Birdies at the Genesis Scottish Open

I was already a few cups of coffee in before Rory McIlroy teed off for his first round of the Genesis Scottish Open, and most of the day was pretty forgettable.

He was in trouble right away, finding the fescue right of the first fairway, a trend that didn’t go away all day long. He limped his way to an opening bogey and was quickly over par. The Northern Irishman got the shot back at the par-5 third, and traded another bogey at the fifth with a birdie at the sixth to make the turn with an even-par 35.

Scottish Open: Jake Knapp tied for the lead | How to Watch, Tee Times

Rory made five straight pars on his way home until his tee shot down the 15th found a fairway bunker. His first try to get out hit the lip, forcing him to lay up his third into the short grass. From there, he hit it to 24 feet and was staring a double right in the face. But after several near misses throughout his round, he was finally able to get a putt to go, and he walked off the green with just a bogey.

That save must have lit a fire, because he went on to birdie Nos. 16, 17, and 18 to get to 2-under for the tournament heading into Friday. On a day when he hit just four of 13 fairways, a 68 feels like robbery. To quote Fat Perez, you can get arrested for doing something like that.

Is what he did sustainable over the next 54 holes? Absolutely not. But saving a bad day with some heroics to not play yourself out of the tournament on Day 1 is something he can hang his hat on for the rest of the week.

His late run also saved his 68-or-better streak at The Renaissance Club, as he’s now nine-for-nine shooting or breaking that mark. That’ll play.

He’ll go off early Friday morning for those of us Stateside, playing alongside Viktor Hovland (4-under) and Xander Schauffele (2-under). The star threesome will tee off at 3:28 a.m. ET, so make sure to set your alarms!