Hard to believe.
The course record holder, one of the favourites for this tournament, a former champion. Playing on one of the courses that moulded him as a golfer, hometown hero Rory McIlroy took an absolutely disastrous first hole at the 148th British Open.
Standing on the first tee at Royal Portrush, the Hollywood native was 9/1 to win the tournament outright. By the end of that first hole, an admittedly tough start, the 30-year-old's odds had drifted out to 33/1.
And that wouldn't be much of a bargain either. Because after being greeted by a rapturous reception from the crowd, Rory had a bit of a mishap, pulling a low iron left and out of bounds.
A proverbial nightmare.
Some deep gasps from the crowd. Let's get this going again.
Ball number two wasn't the perfect strike either, but at least it wasn't out of bounds. The 30-year-old wasn't on top form out there though, and after heading towards the bushes with his second ball and following it up with a missed short putt, Rory left the hole with a quadruple bogey. +4 and already eight shots behind the leader at the time Shane Lowry.
https://twitter.com/SportsJOEdotie/status/1151787399376232449
It was a very different state of affairs for the rest of the Irish out there. Darren Clarke striker of the very first ball of this competition, was inspired early on. He was out in 34 and led the tournament early on. Alongside him, playing partner and amateur champion James Sugrue was keeping him under pressure, the pair trading the lead in and around -2 for most of their rounds.
And then came another. All the way from county Offaly, Shane Lowry had a dream start gaining shots on two of his first five holes.
https://twitter.com/SportsJOEdotie/status/1151783696388829184
An entertaining start to this British Open.
