Just after 10.25am on a breezy morning on the famed Dunluce links, McIlroy would walk off that first green, a ruinous quadruple bogey on his card. Yet, asked if that shocking opening shot proved devastating psychologically, he replied rather oddly, "It almost settled me down. "Obviously I got off to a rough start, the ball just started going left on the wind. Asked if the weight of expectation had maybe taken a cruel toll, he replied "I don't think so. It was a bit of a tentative golf swing, a hard wind off the right and the ball just got going left on me."

Source: Irish Independent July 18, 2019 18:22 UTC