RBC Canadian Open Round 1 Leaderboard: Rory McIlroy slumps to slow start with new golf clubs

A change of golf clubs did little to spark a fire in Rory McIlroy's game in the first round of the RBC Canadian Open. 

McIlroy, 36, bogeyed his last two holes at the 8th and 9th to slump to a disappointing 1-over 71 in the first round at TPC Toronto. 

The opening round leaves him outside of the top 100 as it stands and a whopping 10 shots off the early pace set by Denmark's Thorbjorn Olesen and Chile's Cristobal Del Solar, who are both seeking a first PGA Tour title. 

McIlroy is making his first start since shunning the media en route to a T47 at the PGA Championship from 12-15 May.

He chose to speak with the media on Wednesday where he addressed the reason for rejecting all media requests at golf's second major of the season at Quail Hollow Club. 

McIlroy said he was "p****ed" because two media members had leaked information of his failed driver test ahead of the tournament. 

The World No.2 considered that information was top secret and should never been disclosed to the public.  

McIlroy was further irritated since he was one of 10 players to see their driver fail a C.T. test on the eve of the PGA Championship, one of which included eventual winner Scottie Scheffler.

The USGA's latest driving test deemed McIlroy's TaylorMade Qi10 Driver was "non-conforming, as the face had become too hot. 

He was forced to switch his driver before the first round of the PGA, but still chose to remain with a Qi10 in play. 

Fast forward to this week and McIlroy has since switched things up after a few weeks of testing with TaylorMade's Qi35 Driver, the latest in the company's product line for 2025. 

McIlroy has also replaced his Qi10 3-wood and 5-wood with new Qi35 fairways. 

The TaylorMade staff player is using a 9-degree Qi35 Driver (core model) in his trusted Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X shaft. 

He's also stuck with the same lofts and shafts in his new 3-wood and 5-wood. 

It's understood McIlroy's new driver is set lower and slightly shorter in length than previous.

Related: 

• Rory McIlroy WITB 

On a positive note for McIlroy on Thursday at least, he did find nine of 14 fairways with his new Qi35 Driver at TPC Toronto.

He picked up nearly a shot on the field for strokes-gained off the tee (0.956). 

A vast improvement on his driving during the PGA Championship where in one of the rounds he found just four fairways. 

The downside for McIlroy in the first round was that he lost nearly two shots to the field in strokes-gained total (-1.819).

McIlroy endured a tough day with his wedges as he lost well over a shot around the green (-1.065). 

His iron play was off too, ranking well down the board for approach to the green (-0.757). 

McIlroy was pleased on the whole with his first competitive round back in three weeks, but he knows he will need to play well on Friday in order to just make the weekend. 

"I actually felt like I played okay," said McIlroy after his opening round of 1-over 71. 

"There was a couple of shots in there, it was my first outing with a new driver, and I felt like that went pretty well. 

"I hit some drives that I liked and that I liked to see, so that was encouraging."

McIlroy added: "I'm going to have to do a little bit better tomorrow to be here for the weekend and give myself a chance."

As it stands, McIlroy finds himself 10 shots off the early pace set by Chile's Del Solar and Denmark's Olesen. 

McIlroy's Irish compatriot Shane Lowry got off to a fast start with an opening 6-under 64.

Scotland's Robert MacIntyre kept himself in the hunt to defend his title with a 5-under 65.

McIlroy is playing alongside his European Ryder Cup teammate Ludvig Aberg and Luke Clanton, who is making his first pro start.

Aberg opened brightly with a 2-under 68, while Clanton pipped McIlroy by a shot with a 70. 

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Check out McIlroy's latest WITB below: