Masters Champion Rory McIlroy Drops Blunt Reaction to Poor Start to 2026 PGA Championship

Rory McIlroy carded an opening round score of 4-over 74 as he stumbled late on Thursday at the Aronimink Golf Club.

Masters Champion Rory McIlroy Drops Blunt Reaction to Poor Start to 2026 PGA Championship

Rory McIlroy (Image via Imago)

Rory McIlroy did not have the best of rounds on Thursday. The reigning Masters Champion struggled at the Aronimink Golf Club in the opening round of the 2026 PGA Championship. In the press conference, he dropped a blunt reaction to this performance.

The World No.2 entered this tournament as one of the favorities. While he finished T19 in the Truist Championship last week, his last major start saw him script history and join a rare company as he went back-to-back at the Masters Tournament.

The Northern Irish golfer became just the 4th player after Tiger Woods, Nick Faldo, and Jack Nicklaus to repeat as the champion at Augusta National. That triumph saw him become a 6-time major champion.

Following that victory, the golfer expressed that he still has a lot left to give. The 2-time PGA Championship winner was thus looking to make a strong start this week and push for another major honor.

However, he did not have a good time. His driver was disappointing as he reached the fairways just 5 times. While starting on the back nine, he made a bogey on the 10th to start the round. Following a birdie on the 11th, he made 10 straight pars.

It was the front nine where things got worse for him. Following a bogey on the 4th hole, he made a birdie on the 5th. After this, he made 4 straight bogeys from holes 6 to 9 and finished with a 4-over 74 score, 7 shots behind the leaders.

The 37-year-old was visibly frustrated with his performance. In the press conference, when the moderator asked him about his first round, he dropped an explicit reaction.

S***.

Rory McIlroy said

When asked to elaborate on his answer, the golfer pointed out that he started missing fairways.

I started missing fairways. I missed the fairway right on 4, the fairway right on 6, the fairway right on 7, fairway right on 9. From there, it’s hard you know, I didn’t have great angles either. Then obviously, you start missing it just off the edges of these greens, it gets tricky.

Rory McIlroy told the reporters

McIlroy had some troubles with his driver at the PGA Championship last year as well. After his driver was found to be “non-conforming“, he shot scores of 74, 69, 72, and 72 and finished T47 for the event. He did not speak to the media during the entire tournament as he was upset with the leaks regarding his driver.

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Rory McIlroy headed to the practice range after first round of PGA Championship

Rory McIlroy was not happy with his performance on Thursday. After he wrapped up his opening round in the afternoon, he headed straight to the practice range.

Rory McIlroy
Rory McIlroy (Image via X/@DPWorldTour)

In a video, the golfer could be seen hitting shots on the range. As per reports, he was on the range even after 6 p.m. local time.

Earlier this week, McIlroy’s practice round was cut short due to a toe blister. On Tuesday, he was hoping to have a 9-hole practice round. However, after 3 holes, he gave up due to the pain in his toe. Fortunately for him, he did not have any problem with his toe on Thursday.

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Rory McIlroy records a rare career first at PGA Championship

Rory McIlroy stumbled in the first round at the PGA Championship. The 6-time major champion recorded a rare career first in this event as he finished with a 4-over par score.

Rory McIlroy
Rory McIlroy (Image via Imago)

According to insider Justin Ray, this was McIlroy’s 990th official round of his PGA Tour career, including the majors. It was the first time he made a bogey or worse on each of the last 4 holes of a round.

He was T105 in the leaderboard after the end of the first round. The PGA Championship obviously has a cut line.

The top 70 golfers and ties will qualify for the third round on Saturday. At the moment, the projected cut line is expected to be around 2-over par. McIlroy sits 2 shots behind this projected line and will need a much better showing than Thursday to avoid an early exit.

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