Rory McIlroy’s decision to leave his driver in his locker did not affect his scoring ability as he made six birdies around the cramped Derry Golf Club, but suffered a setback with three bogeys in the opening round of the DP World India Championship.
The world No. 2 got off to an ideal start by chipping in from the fringe on the first 10th hole, but trouble began on the 11th hole when he three-putted and failed to recover, resulting in back-to-back bogeys.
Despite not having his longest club in his bag, McIlroy had no trouble birdieing the two par 5s to come back at 1 under and pick up three more strokes over the next seven holes.
However, he bogeyed the 522-yard No. 8 and finished with a 3-under 69, four behind clubhouse leader Keita Nakajima.
“The dog (driver) was out of the bag and probably asleep in the locker. I was thinking about it before I went to bed last night,” McIlroy said of his club selection in a post-round interview. “If I’m really careful on the par 5s today, I might put a 5-wood on the green. But I’m not going to hit the driver. So I’m going to have to hit a 2-iron, 3-iron, 4-iron all the way, and I have a 5-wood in case I need to hit an approach shot on a par 5.”
McIlroy said the course was still “pretty tricky” despite the limited length required off the tee.
“I’m just trying to be as conservative as possible off the tee and get a birdie on the par 5 and maybe two more,” he said.