Rory McIlroy: McIlroy straight into the groove with R1 66

“That’s the Rory I have seen win majors”.

McIlroy was confident that the extended break, and laser surgery on his eyes, is going to help him on the golf course in what is shaping up to be an exceptionally busy year with the Olympics and Ryder Cup on the card.

Spieth, who started his year by shooting 30 under par to win the Tournament of Champions in Hawaii by eight shots, admitted his driving was “short and crooked” for most of the day, but was more concerned with receiving a “monitoring penalty” on the penultimate hole.

World No. 3 McIlroy was delighted with his 66 today.

Now that Jordan Spieth has won two majors, the world number one golfer said he is desperate to add to that tally in order to ensure that his name goes down prominently in the history books.

Imagine the irritation for Spieth, therefore, when he walked to the ninth tee and was told about the bad time penalty.

“It was a great way to start the year”, he said.

Northern Ireland’s McIlroy started the stronger, picking up four birdies on the opening six holes in his first tournament since winning November’s DP World Tour Championship, but Spieth’s two late birdies kept the U.S. Masters champion in touch with the leaders.

“Pace of play on the European Tour is measured by whether a group keeps to the starting interval between groups, rather than if they are on the same hole, as it is in America, ” said European Tour rules official John Paramor. Jordan Spieth is four back of DeChambeau, but he’s fully invested in McIlroy’s play, calling what he saw on Thursday unbelievably impressive.

One thing’s for sure about the 22-year-old DeChambeau, he isn’t lacking in confidence.

It includes modifying all of his irons so they are the same length, lie angle and bounce – the only difference between them is the loft – and means he can keep the same posture and set-up; hitting two different drives that he has named The Fairway Finder and the Crank Ball; using water and Epsom salts to establish which of his golf balls are slightly flawed so they can be discarded; and adopting a putting routine in which he crouches and extends his putter as if fly-fishing.

European Tour chief executive Keith Pelley said in a statement on the organisation’s website: “As I said a year ago, slow play is a critical part of our game and we are determined to take the lead in combatting it. This initiative is the first step”.

“Not too bad on one leg, ” quipped Stenson, a runner-up in 2006.

An Abu Dhabi ever-present, playing in all 11 Championships, Stenson will be hoping to better his two second place finishes. He thrived in playing with esteemed company and said he took the way he was hitting the ball on the range in Dubai last week onto the course.

“It was a bit of a weird one, ” McIlroy said.

Two three-putts for birdies were the only negatives for McIlroy, whose longest birdie was from 25 feet on No. 13.