Rory McIlroy Battles Royal Melbourne in a Wild Australian Open Start
Let me walk you through what turned out to be a chaotic, frustrating, and strangely entertaining opening round for Rory McIlroy at the Australian Open — a morning that had everything from huge crowds to bogeys, birdies, and even swarms of flies testing his patience.
So, picture this: it’s barely sunrise, and already around 2000 fans are lined up outside Royal Melbourne. The gates aren’t even close to opening, but nobody cares. They’re there for one reason — to catch a glimpse of Rory. That kind of energy tells you right away that this isn't a normal tournament morning.
Rory teed off at 7:05am, and things got interesting almost immediately. He’d already stirred up conversation the day before by calling Royal Melbourne “probably not the best course in Melbourne,” which, as you can imagine, didn’t go unnoticed. And the course seemed eager to respond.
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His opening stretch was the very definition of up-and-down. In just over two hours, Rory had put together a perfectly balanced but chaotic scorecard: three birdies, three pars, and three bogeys. He got off to a dream start with a birdie on the 10th after two beautifully controlled shots. But the momentum didn’t last. Back-to-back bogeys quickly reminded him — and everyone watching — that Royal Melbourne is not the kind of course you talk down without consequences.
Playing with Adam Scott and Min Woo Lee only heightened the spectacle. Tens of thousands of spectators lined the fairways, and on top of that, Rory was dealing with another classic Australian challenge: flies. And not just a few — they seemed to swarm him at every turn. Cameras caught him swatting them away repeatedly, giving the famous “Aussie salute” more times than he’d have liked.
Then came one of the wildest moments. On the 17th, after watching Adam Scott hook his tee shot way left, Rory pulled out the driver for the first time all round… and somehow hit it even further left. Fans near the 13th green suddenly found themselves in prime position as two golf icons tried to salvage something from the trees. To their credit, both somehow scrambled their way to pars, although “scrambled” might be putting it lightly.
On 18, Rory slightly overcooked his wedge and sent it ricocheting off the back wall, finishing just off the green. But this time, the luck of the Irish showed up when he needed it, helping him save par and keep his round steady at even.
So overall, it was a round filled with tension, humor, frustration, and resilience — exactly the kind of day that reminds you why major tournaments can be so compelling. And with more to come, Royal Melbourne clearly isn’t done testing Rory just yet.
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