Coming off back-to-back Masters Tournament victories, Rory McIlroy appeared to have a lot of momentum heading into the second major of 2026, the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club. That didn't play out on the course, however.
McIlroy entered as the second-favorite to win the Wanamaker Trophy behind World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler. But if McIlroy is going to compete to win the PGA Championship for the first time since 2014, he's going to need to start turning things around in a hurry.
The World No. 2 shot a 4-over 74 in the opening round, a disappointing start for the Northern Irishman who has won two of the past five major championships. But it's worth noting that both wins came at Augusta National and McIlroy hasn't won a major not named the Masters since that 2014 PGA Championship victory at Valhalla Golf Club.
When asked after the round to describe his performance, McIlroy gave a simple one-word answer: "S---."
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OK, then.
Prior to the tournament, McIlroy dealt with a blister on his foot that caused him to stop one of his practice rounds after just three holes. It's unclear if that affected his performance, but it makes for a convenient excuse if nothing else.
McIlroy had an interesting opening round on Thursday, starting with a bogey on No. 10 (he began his round on the back nine) before immediately bouncing back with a birdie. He stayed at even par through his first 12 holes after carding 10 consecutive pars.
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For the second time in the round, McIlroy answered a bogey with a birdie on holes Nos. 4 and 5 to continue his even-par run through 14 holes. But that's when things went south. McIlroy made bogey on each of his final four holes, including on the par-5 9th hole, to finish at four-over. He sat outside the top 120 on the leaderboard after the completion of the morning wave, meaning he's going to have to play extremely well on Friday to make the cut.
The top 70 players (and ties) make the cut after the second round. A missed cut would be incredibly surprising for McIlroy, since he's only missed one cut in his past 12 major appearances (2024 Open Championship) entering this week.
However, his first round in the 2026 PGA Championship was eerily similar to his first round at the 2025 PGA Championship when McIlroy shot 3-over at Quail Hollow. He did make the cut, but slogged his way to a 47th-place finish and never really contended.
Opening round struggles in majors have been a theme for McIlroy, even in his 2025 Masters' win to complete the career grand slam. He seemed to buck the trend by posting that sparkling 5-under in the first round at Augusta last month, but it came back on Thursday.
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McIlroy shot a 7-over first round at the 2024 Open Championship, even par at the 2025 Masters, 3-over at the 2025 PGA Championship, 4-over at the 2025 U.S. Open and 1-under at the 2025 Open. Not exactly blistering starts for one of the best golfers on the planet.
He added to that list on Thursday and, once again, will have to dig himself out of a hole if he wants to compete for his first Wanamaker Trophy in 12 years.
