Published>Thu, Jul 15 10 09:38 PM
'A very pleasant round of golf' clearly means something a bit different to Rory McIlroy than the rest of us, for his 18-hole links masterclass put him in a league of his own at the British Open.
That is how the young Northern Irishman described his 63 at the Old Course on Thursday, a nine-under record at the home of golf and a score which has never been bettered at any of the game's majors over generations.
A few pundits scoffed when McIlroy was placed second in the list of odds before the tournament but it should be remembered that you rarely see a poor bookie and the sight of a 21-year-old mercilessly carving up St Andrews is even rarer.
"You're just trying to go lower and lower, no sort of negative thoughts come into your head at all," the man from Holywood told a packed news conference after his landmark round.
"That's the only way I can describe it, just trying to make birdies, I suppose, and nothing else really comes into your mind."
Simple really, just like his explanation for the eagle at the 352-yard par-four ninth where his round exploded into life.
"I hit a driver off the tee to 15 feet and just holed a putt straight up the hill."
Five birdies in the next six holes followed and he was kicking himself after the thought of a major record of 62 entered his mind as he fluffed a short putt at the 17th for another birdie.
From the moment McIlroy had the members at Royal Portrush choking on their Guinness in disbelief after a course record 61 at the age of 16, he has had to carry the burden of being European golf's next big thing.
BEAUTIFUL FRIENDSHIP
He turned pro in 2007 and what could be a beautiful friendship with St Andrews started that year when he finished third in the Dunhill Links aged just 18.
McIlroy climbed the rankings after his Dubai Desert Classic win last year but it was at Quail Hollow, North Carolina in May that he truly surged into the limelight.
After scraping through to make the cut on the Friday, he fired a 66 on the Saturday and then a course record 62 to leave the likes of world number two Phil Mickelson trailing in his wake.
"It was a fantastic score," he said of his bogey-free 63.
"I didn't get off to a flying start. I was one under through eight holes and then the eagle on nine really sort of turned things around for me."
The only black mark was that putt on 17. A 63 has been carded many times in the majors but just for a moment McIlroy let the thought of an elusive 62 disrupt his concentration.
"I started thinking to myself, if I can birdie this hole I've got a chance of birdie at the last. It sort of went through my mind on 17 that 62 would have been the lowest round in a major. That's probably why I missed the putt."
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