Rory McIlroy says he's fighting swing, mystery illness after R1 of US PGA

Rory McIlroy says he appears to be fighting his swing and a mystery illness after the first round of the PGA Championship at Oak Hill.

Ben Smith

19 May 2023

Rory McIlroy says he's fighting swing, mystery illness after R1 of PGA Championship — Rory McIlroy says he's fighting swing, mystery illness after R1 of PGA…

Rory McIlroy claimed he's fighting something of a mystery illness after he battled hard to post an opening 71 at the PGA Championship.

McIlroy, who turned 34 recently, arrived at Oak Hill appearing to want to try out something new.

That something new? Trying to avoid the distraction of talking about LIV Golf. He will make a conscious effort to avoid that, he said.

Perhaps McIlroy thinks this approach will yield some success in the major championships. He had a miserable Masters and missed the cut.

It led to him taking a break from the game and effectively being fined by the PGA Tour for skipping a designated event.

His decision was surprising given that those bumper prize purse events were something the Ulsterman campaigned hard for.

McIlroy found himself six shots adrift of the early surprise leader Eric Cole when play was suspended due to darkness on Thursday.

The Northern Irishman told the media he was alarmed to see his Whoop (fitness watch) data when he woke up in the morning.

"I'm fighting something. I thought I got a great night's sleep last night, and I look at my Whoop, and I was 22 per cent recovery, and my skin temperature was 3.5 degrees higher than what it's been. I'm fighting something. But I actually feel better today than I felt yesterday, so plenty of water and a bit of rest, I'll be fine." - Rory McIlroy

Will Rory McIlroy win a major in 2023?
— GolfMagic (@GolfMagic) May 7, 2023

Rory McIlroy says he's fighting swing, mystery illness after R1 of US PGA

McIlroy started slowly and made three bogeys on his opening nine holes before sparking into life at No. 2, holing a 36-footer from off the green to save par.

He could only laugh.

McIlroy said:

"It was massive. I was staring sort of just hoping to get done in two and make bogey and go to the third hole at 4-over par. When you walk off the green 3-over and then you hit a tee shot like that, and all of a sudden, the pendulum swings or momentum goes the other way, and all of a sudden you make a couple of birdies in a row, and you feel like you're sort of right back in the tournament. So, yeah, it was massive. I don't know how -- depending on what happens over the next three days and what I go on to do, you know, I may look back at that shot as being the sort of turning point of the week."

McIlroy went on to card three more birdies to sign for an opening 1-over 71.

More GolfMagic articles from the 2023 US PGA Championship: