Rory McIlroy gives brutal X-rated verdict on his opening round at PGA Championship

Rory McIlroy didn't hold back in his brutal assessment of a disappointing opening round at the US PGA Championship.

The Northern Irishman recovered well after an opening bogey at Aronimink Golf Club, hitting a birdie before he notched 10 consecutive pars. However, his round fell apart in the back nine, with a solitary birdie lost among five bogeys, to leave him four over par overall.

It leaves the 37-year-old with plenty to do after a brutal opening round, and the Masters champion didn't hold back in the verdict of his own performance. "S***," he simply replied in his press conference.

“I started missing fairways. I missed the fairway right on four, the fairway right on six, the fairway right on seven, fairway right on nine. From there it is hard, I didn't have great angles either.

“It felt like I did okay, I made that birdie on five to get back to even-par after the soft bogey on four, then I just got on that bogey train at the end.

“I’m just not driving the ball well enough. It’s been a problem all year for the most part. I just need to try to figure it out. I honestly thought I’d figured it out.

“Just sort of, once I get under the gun, it just seems like it starts to go a little bit wayward on me.”

McIlroy cut his practice round in Philadelphia short due to a toe injury, but insisted it was not a valid excuse for the manner of his poor opening performance.

Instead, he felt that wayward drives were hampering his performance, with several players struggling when they missed the fairway. He added: “There certainly is a penalty for missing the fairway. Probably more than what I anticipated after being here, whatever it is, two Fridays ago."

Calendar change to blame?

McIlroy began the PGA Championship in search of his seventh major win after he successfully defended his Masters crown last month. He previously won the PGA in 2012 and 2014, but has struggled in recent years, something he has put down to the change in calendar that saw the tournament move from August to May in 2019.

Earlier this week, the Northern Irishman claimed moving the PGA to the month after the Masters had impacted his results. “I would say I always sort of grouped Akron and the PGA together as that sort of two-week stretch after The Open,” she said of the schedule.

“Honestly, since the tournament has moved to May, my results haven't been that great here at the PGA. I feel like it's a very tight window between the Masters and this tournament. It doesn't seem -- obviously, this used to be in August. I think you had the ability to maybe go to March -- even though we're in the northeast this week, it looks like it's going to be good weather.”