It was an adventurous round but one that ended the way Rory McIlroy wanted as the No. 3 player in the world shot a 5-under 67 to get in the mix at the 2024 BMW PGA Championship in Surrey, England. McIlroy, who fell one shot short of a playoff last week at the Irish Open in his home country of Northern Ireland after three putting the 71st hole, picked up where he left off by making four birdies in his first six holes and going out in 31.

He made two more birdies early on his back nine, one of which happened on the par-5 12th hole where his clubhead flew off during an approach shot. McIlroy said he completely lost sight of the golf ball because he was so stunned by the clubhead, but it trickled to 7 feet, which he missed for eagle.

“It was just one of those things,” McIlroy said. “I hit 9 iron on the ninth hole, and I looked at it and looked at if the barrel was coming loose, but it was actually the head detaching from the shaft.

“I obviously didn’t realize that when I hit the shot on 12. Yeah, it was a bit of a weird feeling. I hit, and you know, obviously you’re expecting the weight of the club to just pull through — and there was nothing there. Thankfully, the ball went where I wanted it to. It could have been a lot worse but thankfully got it repaired and it should be okay to go tomorrow.”

The shot of the strike is as shocking as one would think.

That wasn’t the only bizarre shot of McIlroy’s round. He also hit a putt left-handed on the 8th hole on which he ended up making par.

“Hopefully no more left-handed this week,” he said. “Yeah, it was up against the sort of collar there where that water hazard is on the 8th hole and didn’t really have a stance hitting it right-handed. Hit a left-handed putt. Did a decent job. At least I got the speed pretty much correct. I didn’t get the line right but knocked that one in, made par and very swiftly moved to the 9th tee. Pretty happy.”

If there was a disappointment in McIlroy’s round, it was that he finished the back nine par-bogey on back-to-back par 5s. Those two holes played as two of the easiest six on the day, and he had a real chance to push his score to 65 or better. As it stands, his 5 under will not be good enough to lead at the end of the day, but it should have him inside the top 10 for the second week in a row after Round 1.

It would be a third overall individual win for McIlroy in 2024, which would add to his insane totals from throughout his career.

2024 22 2 3 1 2023 21 2 2 2 2022 22 3 2 2 2021 24 2 – 1 2020 17 – – 1 2019 25 4 2 1 2018 25 1 3 1 2017 18 – 2 – 2016 22 3 – 3 2015 20 4 1 – 2014 24 4 5 – 2013 25 1 2 – 2012 24 5 4 2 2011 23 2 3 3 2010 27 1 – 3 2009 28 1 2 3

Taking the BMW PGA Championship would be a sweet rebound for McIlroy, who would capture what is tantamount to The Players Championship on the European Tour.

“The nice thing about disappointments is that, if you have something in this next week, it’s nice to keep busy and keep your mind focused on something else,” McIlroy said.

He is also miles ahead in the Race to Dubai, the European season-long points race. It’s a title he’s attempting to win for the sixth time, which would tie him with Seve Ballesteros on the all-time list and get him within two of Colin Montgomerie.

“It’s an amazing golf tournament,” McIlroy said. “It’s one of the best that we play throughout the calendar year. It’s important in the overall scheme of any year because of where I find myself in the Race to Dubai. I’m trying to win that … and what that would mean to me, being alongside Seve and keeping closer to Monty and all that stuff. It’s a big tournament in that regard, and obviously a big tournament to try to be as resilient as possible after last week and move on.”

McIlroy was certainly resilient in Round 1, even amid a bit of chaos. The march toward reconciling last week’s disappointing finish and securing another accomplished — if still major-less — year is officially on at Wentworth Club.

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