Golf
McIlroy struggles at The Barclays─── 11:16 Fri, 22 Aug 2014
World number one, Rory McIlroy struggled in the opening round of The Barclays, while Bo van Pelt put on a Master class to take the lead with a bogey free round of 6 under par 65.
The Northern Irishman, ranked first in the world and first in the FedExCup standings after winning the Open Championship, the World Golf Championships Bridgestone and PGA Championship in succession, trails the leading trio in the clubhouse by eight strokes.
Van Pelt who in his turn fired 4 birdies and an eagle on the 17th to take the solo lead, was very happy the round at the tough Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, New Jersey.
“I felt like my preparation was good coming in, you never know, but it’s nice to get off to a good start.
“I hit it close on one, I made a nice putt on two and hit a pretty much gimme on threes.
“Any time you can get ahead of a tough golf course it just relaxes you a little bit,“ said Van Pelt when speaking of his opening round.
Jim Furyk of the USA fired another great round after shooting 6 birdies and a bogey to finish the round in tied second on five under par 66.
Furyk, who is one the most consistent players on tour, is still in pursuit of his first PGA win in four years.
He was paired alongside Matt Kuchar in the opening round and the they two are paired for the second round as well.
“Matt and I are friends, I enjoy playing with him,” said Furyk about Kuchar.
“Whether he’s playing good or bad, he’s always in a pretty good mood.
“We tell some jokes, we tell so stories out there, we’ve been talking about the Ryder Cup a little bit,” Furyk added about his good friend.
“I had a good day, he’s a great pairing. He got off to a slow start today, but boy, he had a great back 9 he shot four or five under on the back nine,” Furykk said about his round paired with Kuchar.
Kuchar is currently tied in 13th, on three under par 68, alongside Ernie Els of South Africa, Rickie Fowler of the USA and Justin Rose of England.
Zimbabwe’s Brendon de Jongh is currently one shot off the lead on five under par 66 alongside Furyk.
Morgan Piek /OFM News
