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Rory McIlroy tied the Players Championship record for most birdies in a single round with 10 in the opening round of the ongoing event at TPC Sawgrass on Thursday (March 14).
McIlroy, 34, the No. 2 overall player in the official World Golf Rankings, shot 65 to tie Xander Schauffele for the lead at 7-under, despite two tee shots that landed in the water. The Northern Ireland native had previously acknowledged his recent stellar play with woods, but struggles with irons, during a press conference on Wednesday (March 13) heading into to the event. On Thursday, however, McIlroy's short game was exceptional as he hit 15 greens, gaining more than three strokes with his approach play and recording his final record-tying birdie on the 17th hole.
McIlroy shot for par or better on 16 of his first 17 holes before recording his lone bogey on hole 18, with Schauffele shooting a birdie on his final hole to tie at 7-under. The four-time major champion's historic round included an apparent disagreement with playing partners Jordan Spieth and Viktor Hovland over where his ball bounded, crossed and ultimately stopped, which resulted in a double-bogey, on hole 7.
"Jordan was just trying to make sure that I was doing the right thing," McIlroy said via CBS Sports. "I was pretty sure that my ball had crossed where I was sort of dropping it. It's so hard, right, because there was no TV evidence. I was adamant. But, again, he was just trying to make sure that I was going to do the right thing. If anything, I was being conservative with it.
"At the end of the day, we're all trying to protect ourselves, protect the field, as well. I wouldn't say [the conversation] was needless. He was just trying to make sure that what happened was the right thing."
McIlroy had previously earned his largest career paycheck, $2,250,000, with his 2019 Players Championship tournament win.