Tiger Woods says Rory McIlroy "made it look very easy" after the Northern Irishman set the early pace on day one of the US PGA Championship.
Seeking a first major in eight years, McIlroy carded five-under 65 to take a one-shot lead into the clubhouse at Southern Hills on Thursday.
The 33-year-old, who won this event in 2012 and 2014, closed with a birdie on the final hole – his seventh of the day – to put himself in strong contention for another title.
He teed off in a marquee group alongside Jordan Spieth and Woods, who carded 74 and 72 respectively, with the latter impressed by what he saw from McIlroy.
"Obviously you can shoot something in the mid-60s, Rory proved that today," Woods told Sky Sports. "He made it look very easy.
"He had a couple of shots where he slipped away and he still shot five under and made it look very easy."
McIlroy, who finished second in last month's Masters after shooting a record-equalling eight-under 64 on the final day, is not getting carried away just yet.
"I came in here knowing that my game was in good shape," McIlroy said. "So it's just a matter of going out there and executing the shots that you know that you can.
"Today I did that very well and I just need to try to replicate that tomorrow, Saturday, Sunday and not get ahead of myself, but it was a great start."
While McIlroy is in a strong position, Woods faces an uphill battle to make the cut, as he did at the Masters last month, but he is not giving up hope of a big recovery on Friday.
"It can be done, I've witnessed it first-hand, so hopefully I can put together something similar tomorrow and get myself back in this tournament," he said.
The 15-time major winner is competing in just his second tournament since sustaining serious leg and foot injuries in a car accident 15 months ago.
Woods felt some discomfort towards the end of an erratic opening round, which ended with him nine strokes behind McIlroy.
"Physically, I've felt better," he told Sky Sports. "Emotionally, I've actually felt better too.
"It was frustrating. I got off to a great start today, I did exactly what I needed to do starting out the round, but I did not keep it going.
"I hit a lot of bad iron shots, put myself in a lot of bad spots and never really gave myself any birdie putts.
"I actually felt comfortable with the driver, I hit a lot of fairways with it, but from there it wasn't very good. Most of my bunker shots I hit were long, came out hotter than I thought.
"But predominately I just hit bad iron shots. That's not normally how I play, but today unfortunately that's kind of what it was."
Scheffler swinging with confidence at Tour Championship despite seeing lead cut to four
Scottie Scheffler insists his swing is "in a good spot" despite seeing his lead at the top of the Tour Championship standings cut to four shots on the second day.
Scheffler, who is aiming to win his first FedEx Cup title, carded 65 in his opening round and entered the second round with a 10-shot lead.
However, the world number one saw American duo Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele close the gap during a weather-disrupted second round on Friday.
Scheffler carded a round of 66 to take himself to 21 under par, aided by two birdies in the final three holes to keep the chasing back at bay.
"I feel like my swing is in a good spot, and I've hit it nice the last couple of days," he said. "A lot of quality stuff out there, and in a good spot going into the weekend."
Morikawa is four shots off the pace after producing a superb eight-under 63, which was the best round of the day, and has surged up the standings to second place.
In an impressive round, he dropped just one shot on the 11th hole, but made amends on the back nine before closing with back-to-back birdies.
"He's going to continue to make birdies," Morikawa said about the possibility of catching Scheffler. "He's driving it really, really well here, and you're giving yourself enough wedges to make some scoring opportunities out there.
"For me, it's just about bringing energy and just staying alive out there."
Schauffele is in third, one shot behind compatriot Morikawa, after shooting an impressive second-round 64 to remain in the hunt for the $25million prize money.
There is then a four-shot gap until a group of three players, including Adam Scott, are tied for fourth place at 12 under, while Rory McIlroy is tied for 10th place on eight under.
'Still feel like I've got a chance', says McIlroy as Scheffler takes Tour Championship lead
Scottie Scheffler is in prime position to win his first FedEx Cup title after storming into a seven-shot lead at the Tour Championship.
The world number one, who started on 10 under due to the FedEx Cup's staggered structure, carded a superb 65 in the first round of the PGA Tour's season-ending tournament, after recovering from an early bogey at East Lake.
Scheffler's haul included seven birdies, with five of those coming from his last seven holes, as he bids to win a seventh PGA Tour event of the season.
His main FedEx Cup challenger Xander Schauffele is tied for second on nine under par, along with Collin Morikawa, while Rory McIlroy is three shots back in T10.
However, the Northern Irishman has not given up hope of applying pressure to Scheffler as the tournament goes on.
"I'm happy with how I hung in there and had a good finish," McIlroy told Sky Sports.
"When I saw Scottie had gotten to 14, I was like, 'Oh, got to try to just hang on to the coattails a little bit'.
"Still feel like I've got a chance, and it was nice to finish the way I did."
Scheffler, also speaking to Sky Sports, said: "Yeah, I'm pleased with the day.
"I tried not to think about any sort of lead or anything like that, my job was to go out there and execute and I felt like I did a really good job of that. I felt like I was doing some good stuff to start the day.
"I had the bogey on one but after that I felt like I played some really good golf."
Bradley in disbelief after moving into FedEx Cup contention with BMW Championship win
Keegan Bradley was in disbelief after putting himself in FedEx Cup contention by winning his second BMW Championship title on Sunday.
Bradley, who was appointed as the United States' 2025 Ryder Cup captain last month, edged out Adam Scott to claim a one-shot victory at the event near Denver.
Scott pulled level with Bradley at the start of his final round but later bogeyed three straight holes as the American won his seventh PGA Tour title.
Bradley, who also won the 2018 tournament by beating Justin Rose in a play-off, now sits fourth in the FedEx Cup standings, behind Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele and Hideki Matsuyama.
Following his victory, the 38-year-old set his sights on another triumph at next week's Tour Championship in Atlanta, having only just squeezed into the 50-player field at Castle Pines.
"Oh, man, it just shows why you've got to grind it out every week because you never know how fast it can switch," Bradley said.
"Now I go to Atlanta with a chance to win the FedEx Cup. I can't believe it. I'm so excited.
"I'm in a bit of a state of shock because there was a time a week ago about this time that I didn't think I was going to be coming here.
"I had to have a lot of magical things happen for me to just play in this tournament, and when I got here, I was so grateful just to be here.
"I played with a real sense of calm all week, which is not the norm for me"
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
