Rory McIlroy has nightmare at Irish Open

A bad day at the office for Rory McIlroy, who hit a nineoverpar 80 at the Irish Open, which he hosts. Picture: Paul Faith/AFP/Getty

McIlroy carded nine bogeys and no birdies in an opening 80 at Royal County Down, six days after a 78 to miss the cut in the defence of his BMW PGA Championship title at Wentworth.

Only seven of the 78 morning starters broke par – US Open champion Martin Kaymer shot 79 playing alongside McIlroy – but former champion Padraig Harrington took advantage of marginally easier conditions in the afternoon to card a four- under 67, matched in the last group out by Germany’s Max Kieffer with the pair sharing the first-round lead.

Richie Ramsay was the leading Scot, tied for 26th place on one over par. Blairgowrie amateur Bradley Neil shot a two-over-par 73, having been two under after eight holes.

Also two over were David Drysdale and Scott Jamieson, while Marc Warren, Stephen Gallacher and Paul Lawrie all finished the day on four over par.

Chris Doak had a seven-over-par 78 and Craig Lee was a shot further back, just one stroke better than McIlroy.

“It was not quite as difficult as I made it look,” McIlroy admitted with a wry smile after an opening round played in cold, blustery conditions and the occasional rain shower.

“I was hitting it well on the range, keeping it down and hitting half shots, but the wind was not up that much on the course and I was caught between trying to play two ways. That led to missing greens, which led to lots of eight to 12-foot putts for par, which led to missing all of them.”

McIlroy has pledged to donate all of his prize money this week to his charitable foundation, while his association with the event ensured a top-class field and a sell-out crowd of 20,000 each day.

“It’s disappointing because I want to go out there and play well, not just for myself but for a lot of other people,” McIlroy added. “I’ll just have to pick myself up and go out there tomorrow and shoot a good one. I want to give the fans something to cheer about and not just get sympathy claps as I got coming off the ninth green.

“My goal will be to make some birdies, make my first birdie of the tournament at some point. I’ve missed the cut the last two years so I don’t want to make it three in a row.

“I want to at least go out there tomorrow and fight for it, try to claw my way back towards the cut line and if I can sneak in there, that’ll be great.”

It is the fourth time McIlroy has recorded a score in the 80s as a professional, the worst being an 83 in South Africa a few months after turning professional in 2007 and the most famous his second round of 80 in the 2010 Open and final round of 80 when leading the 2011 Masters by four shots.

It was also the four-time major winner’s first round without a birdie since a second-round 79 in the Memorial Tournament in 2012.

“It’s my fifth week in a row and I’m not saying I felt flat out there, but just trying to muster something up to get myself going and get some sort of momentum was difficult,” added McIlroy, who said on Wednesday he felt “refreshed” after his weekend off.

Harrington, whose victory in the Honda Classic in March was his first on a major tour since the 2008 US PGA, was one over par after ten holes before carding five birdies in the next six to finish one shot ahead of Soren Hansen.

“After nine or ten holes I thought to myself, ‘C’mon, we’ve got to hit a good shot, no need to be afraid,’” said Harrington, who lasted just two holes at Wentworth before pulling out with a shoulder injury, but received intensive treatment and narrowly missed out on qualifying for the US Open four days later.

“I know from experience now that I’m in a position where there’s many ways of competing in this tournament. I’ve two options – play great from now on and try and get away from the field or play average and fight it out on Sunday afternoon.”

Harrington felt hosting duties may have been a “step too far” for McIlroy, who saw playing partner Rickie Fowler card an opening 71 in his first outing since winning the Players Championship, while Luke Donald went one better with a 70.

Donald dropped out of the world’s top 60 on Monday to miss out on qualifying for the US Open, but could claim one of three places up for grabs in the Open at St Andrews by finishing in the top ten here.

“I’m trying not to think about that too much, I’m just trying to play a solid tournament and get some consistency,” the former world No 1 said.