Rory McIlroy 'frustrated' with putting despite good start in WGC in Florida

Rory McIlroy admitted to feeling “frustrated” despite making a promising start in the WGC-Workday Championship in Florida in his bid to extend a streak of bouncing back from rare missed cuts.

Rory McIlroy walks up the tenth hole during the first round of World Golf Championships-Workday Championship at The Concession in Bradenton, Florida. Picture: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images.

The four-time major winner had followed his last five early exits in tournaments with two wins, a second place, a fourth and a 12th.

Less than a week after failing to make it to the weekend in the Genesis Invitational in Los Angeles, McIlroy was back in the groove again as he opened with a three-under-par 69 at The Concession Golf Club.

After picking up shots at the tenth, 13th and 16th on his front nine, he looked set for something better at the venue that was founded from one of the greatest acts of sportsmanship the game has witnessed when Jack Nicklaus conceded a putt to Tony Jacklin in the 1969 Ryder Cup.

He then mixed two birdies with three bogeys at the start of the inward half but, helped by a sixth birdie of the day at the seventh - his 16th - it was still a good opening effort.

Former US Open champion Webb Simpson and Englishman Matthew Fitzpatrick set the pace with matching 66s, one better than Brooks Koepka, Billy Horschel, Kevin Kisner and Sergio Garcia.

“I missed three putts on the last nine holes that I thought for sure were going right to left and all missed on the right edge,” McIlroy told Sky Sports Golf.

“Then I missed one on another hole that was right to left and gave it a little less break as a sort of reaction to the other putts and that broke left.

“I got a good feeling with what I am doing with the long game and will try and groove that in then go to the putting green to try and figure it out a bit.

“Of course, it is frustrating because you come off the course thinking you could be three or four shots lower than you were, but I’ve just got to keep putting the work in.

“I holed some good putts out there today. It’s not as if I didn’t hole anything, but I just missed a few that I should have holed.”

Scottish No 1 Bob MacIntyre dropped three shots in the first four holes before finding his feet as he went on to card a two-over 74.

Meanwhile, it has been ascertained that Tiger Woods was “not drunk” at the wheel and his car crash in Los Angeles on Tuesday was "purely an accident".

The LA County sheriff, Alex Vilanueva, revealed the news as Woods recovers in hospital with serious leg injuries after his car hit a kerb before rolling several times in a suburb in the Californian city.

"He was not drunk, we can throw that one out," said Villanueva during a live streamed social media event, appearing to rule out any potential criminal charges despite the ongoing investigation.

However, he said investigators may seek warrants for a blood sample to definitively rule out alcohol and drugs while detectives could also apply for a warrant for the 15-time major winner’s phone to see if he was driving distracted.

The same process could also be applied for the vehicle's event data recorder or "black box", which would give information about how fast he was going.

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