Rory McIlroy took encouragement from his fighting finish after recording a level-par first-round 71 at the Open on Thursday.
The Northern Irishman endured a frustrating start to his latest quest to reclaim the Claret Jug at Royal Liverpool with a mixed round featuring three birdies and three bogeys.
It might even have been worse after he found a greenside bunker at the par-five 18th and needed two shots to escape the sand trap.
Yet he held his nerve to save par from 10 feet and keep himself within five strokes of joint-leaders Tommy Fleetwood, Emiliano Grillo and Christo Lamprecht.
“You are just hoping to make par somehow and get out of there,” said McIlroy of the final hole.
“I got lucky because that ball could have gone into a deeper part of my footprints and I could have been there all night. It was a really good par in the end.
“I was probably hoping for a bit more at the start of the day but, overall, two over through 12 – to get it back to even for the day, I’m pretty pleased with that.
“I could have let that round get away from me but I didn’t with the two birdies on the back nine.”
McIlroy, who is bidding to end a nine-year major drought this week, believes he has given himself a platform to build on in the coming days.
The 34-year-old, champion last time the Open was held at Hoylake in 2014, said: “I didn’t really get it going on the front nine. I missed a few putts.
“A few putts started to go in on the back nine, which is nice to see. Hopefully I’ve got my eye in now and I can build on that over the next three days.
“I needed to stay patient out there. It wasn’t easy but I am still right in there.
“I need to shoot something in the 60s tomorrow and I will be right there for the weekend.”
McIlroy boosts Race to Dubai hopes with early lead in DP World Tour Championship
Rory McIlroy made a dream start to the DP World Tour Championship, taking a share of the lead after the opening round in Dubai.
The Northern Irishman, a two-time winner at the event, holds a 1,758-point lead over Thriston Lawrence and needs to finish 11th or higher to guarantee top spot in the season-long standings for the third successive year.
He carded a five-under 67 in the first round, improving on his mixed results on the first nine to finish with six birdies and a lone bogey.
A brilliant long putt on the 17th topped off his impressive performance, giving him a share of the early advantage with Tyrrell Hatton, who held onto the lead by making par on the 18th.
Speaking to Sky Sports after his final round, McIlroy was asked if it bothered him that the media holds him to a higher standard during big events.
"Depends what day it is!" he said. "I think overall I have to take it as a compliment.
"It's a testament to the body of work that I've put in over the course of my 17 or 18-year career that I am held to such a high standard. And I want to live up to those standards too. It's not just everyone else. I fully expect to turn up to tournaments and have a chance to win every time. I'm under no illusions that I'm not going to win every time.
"But with how many chances I've given myself, especially this year, it feels like I probably should've won a couple of more times. But saying that, if I go on and have another three good days here and end the year with a win, I'll look back on 2024 pretty fondly.
"I thought I did well [on Thursday]. The golf course is playing a little bit tougher than it has done in previous years with how thick the rough is. I made some nice pars around the middle of the round when a couple of holes could have got away from me, and then I finished well with the birdies on 14 and 17."
Last week's Abu Dhabi Championship winner, Paul Waring, sits one shot back in third, while Billy Horschel and Adam Scott are among those to card a three-under 69.
Meanwhile, Lawrence, the only player who could catch McIlroy in the Race to Dubai, struggled on Thursday and sits six back after he finished one over on 73.
'I have to take care of myself' – McIlroy to play reduced schedule in 2025
Rory McIlroy has confirmed he will play a reduced schedule of 22 or 23 events in 2025, acknowledging he must take care of his body after a challenging year.
McIlroy endured a series of agonising near misses in 2024, most notably when losing to Bryson DeChambeau at the U.S. Open in June, when he made three bogeys in his last four holes to relinquish the lead.
While the Northern Irishman has not won a major crown since 2014, he is closing in on a sixth Race to Dubai crown, holding a lead of 1,785 points over Thriston Lawrence ahead of this week's DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates.
As McIlroy prepares for his 18th season as a professional, he has revealed his intention to skip a series of events, mostly those staged in the United States.
"If I can trim it down to 22 or 23, that will be good for me in the long run," McIlory said in an interview with BBC Sport.
"I have to remember I'm 35, I'm knocking on a little bit – I have the grey hairs to prove it.
"At 35, I've been on tour for 17 or 18 years, I'm not slowing down but I just have to take care of myself and my body a little bit more.
"I'm not going to miss these tournaments in the Middle East, I'm not going to miss Wentworth, the Irish Open or the Scottish Open.
"There were a few events I played in America this season that I don't typically play, and I think that's where I'm going to have to trim a little bit."
McIlroy has previously won the DP World Tour Championship on two occasions, beating Justin Rose by two strokes in 2012 and edging out Andy Sullivan in 2015.
Pain of U.S. Open defeat still 'stings', concedes McIlroy
Rory McIlroy said his heartbreaking loss to Bryson DeChambeau at the U.S. Open in June still "stings", after assessing his 2024 season.
McIlroy's campaign will come to an end in the Middle East this week, with the Northern Irishman closing in on a sixth Race to Dubai crown at the DP World Tour Championship.
He currently holds a lead of 1,785 points over Thriston Lawrence, and knows a top-11 finish on Sunday will guarantee him the season-long crown for the third year in a row.
Should McIlroy emerge victorious, it will also be his sixth Race to Dubai title and match Seve Ballesteros' total, just two away from record eight-time winner Colin Montgomerie.
But when reflecting on 2024, he said that after making three bogeys in his last four holes to lose the US Open to DeChambeau, the battle scars still remain.
"Incredibly consistent again. I've been really proud of that over the past few years," he said in Wednesday's pre-tournament press conference in Dubai.
"But then, at the same time, thinking about the ones that have got away.
"I should be sitting up here with a fifth major title and I'm not, so that stings and that's something that I've had to come to terms with. But at the same time, I've got plenty more opportunities in the future.
"But I really just tried to focus on the positives this year of consistently performing at the highest level. You know, still having three wins with an opportunity to get a fourth here this week, to win another Race to Dubai title.
"Did I achieve every goal I set myself this year? Probably not, but I still consider it a successful season."
McIlroy won once on the DP World Tour when he claimed the Dubai Desert Classic in January.
But he has also had four runner-up finishes, including the US Open, the Amgen Irish Open at Royal County Down and the BMW PGA.
Winning a sixth Harry Vardon Trophy and matching his father’s golfing hero, Ballesteros, still means a lot to him.
"I guess I am a little too young to remember a lot of Seve's career and things that he did. Seve is almost like, not a mythical character to me, but was just a little bit before my time," he said.
"But he was my dad's favourite player. The immense impact he had on European golf from a Ryder Cup and from what he did for the European Tour, he means a lot to the overall game of golf but specifically in this part of the world and on this tour.
"To draw level with him and to have a career that can somewhat stack up against his is very cool."
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