Sports

Rory at it again: McIlroy one shot behind leaders at PGA

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Look out, golf. Rory McIlroy looks like world dominance is his next goal.

McIlroy — fresh off his British Open victory, a win last week at Bridgestone and regaining his No. 1 world ranking — made a late-afternoon charge at Thursday’s PGA Championship opening round at Valhalla and is one shot off the lead entering Friday’s second round.

Despite a double-bogey on his back nine after hitting a ball out of bounds on the 10th hole, McIlroy stormed to a 66, and is 5-under par, one shot behind leaders Lee Westwood, Kevin Chappell and Ryan Palmer, all of whom shot 65.

“I was very hot,’’ said McIlroy, who had a three-putt bogey on 11. “Things like what happened on 10, they happen. You hit bad shots. It sort of knocked me off track a little bit because it’s one of the only bad shots I’ve hit in a few weeks. What I was really angry about was you don’t compound that error and make a bogey on the next hole with a 3-putt.

“It’s trying to use that fire as a fuel and sort of propel yourself forward. It just sort of shows where my game is mentally right now, that I was able to do that today.’’

It shows why it is going to take an extraordinary effort from someone else in the field this week to derail the McIlroy Express.

McIlroy followed a double-bogey and a bogey on 10 and 11 with four consecutive birdies.

He had eight birdies in the opening round and hit 12 of 14 fairways as well as 13 of 18 greens. He closed with a birdie on the par-5 18th.

Lee WestwoodAP

“Obviously he’s playing great right now,’’ said Masters champion Bubba Watson, who played with McIlroy and shot 70. “He’s probably playing the best of anybody, as the record shows the last few weeks. Very solid, in control of everything. Even the shots where he made bogey, he didn’t get too upset. He just knew that he was playing good enough to make birdies. Then he made four in a row. Pretty good.’’

Westwood, who has had an uneven year, carried over the momentum from a closing-round 63 at the Bridgestone, his best round of the year, into Thursday.

The 41-year-old Englishman made nine birdies and carded his best round in 17 PGA Championships.

“The golf course was all there in front of me; I just play it as I see it,” Westwood said. “Last week, I felt like I turned a corner.”

Chappell’s round was bogey-free.

“I can’t complain about being in the lead of any golf tournament,” said Chappell, who is ranked 104th in the world and whose only professional win came on the Web.com Tour in 2010. “I just look forward to keeping it rolling.”

Defending champion Jason Dufner, who has had neck problems, withdrew in the middle of his round.

“I tried to do what I could to be able to compete some and give it a go, but it is just pointless,” Dufner said.

Jim Furyk is one shot back at 5-under par, as is Chris Wood, Edoardo Molinari and Henrik Stenson.

Phil Mickelson, who does not have top-10 finish all year, struggled early but rallied to shoot a 69. Tiger Woods, who played with Mickelson, shot 74 one day after arriving to the course after rehabbing his injured back.