Frustrated Rory McIlroy bluntly calls first round 's---' after wheels fall off late at PGA Championship 2026

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NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. -- When Rory McIlroy met with the media before the 2026 PGA Championship began, he remarked that "strategy off the tee is pretty nonexistent" at Aronimink Golf Club. After shooting a 74 on Thursday in a first-round performance that McIlroy succinctly described as "shit," the six-time major winner was left to eat his words.

McIlroy put forth a shockingly poor effort with his driver, losing half a stroke to the field off the tee.

It's not the first time that he has struggled this year off the tee this year, though it has rarely affected him to this degree. McIlroy scrapped his way around Augusta National with some incredible scrambling and putting on his way to a second green jacket.

That proved he's a different player than he was years ago, when the driver was his ultimate weapon; however, his first round at Aronimink was a reminder that the Ulsterman will not always get away with poor driving.

The punishment he faced for those wayward drives was apparent from the start, when McIlroy missed the fairway by inches on the 10th (his first hole) and could only hack his second shot 104 yards down the fairway on his way to an opening bogey.

"It's hit and miss. ... I got a couple of lies today that were particularly bad," McIlroy said. "The one on the 10th hole starting off, that's as bad as I've seen. There certainly is a penalty for missing the fairway. Probably more than what I anticipated after being here two Fridays ago."

McIlroy bounced back with a birdie on No. 11 and was able to hold his round together and stay in the mix through his first 14 holes, arriving at the 6th (his 15th hole of the day) at even par for his round despite his struggles off the tee. However, everything unraveled from there for McIlroy, who closed his round with four consecutive bogeys -- five in his last six holes -- to post 4 over and sit outside the top 100 when his round ended.

"I started missing fairways," McIlroy explained. "I missed the fairway right on 4, the fairway right on 6, the fairway right on 7, fairway right on 9. From there, it's hard -- I didn't have great angles either. Then, obviously, you start missing it just off the edges of these greens; it gets tricky. I felt like I did OK. I made that birdie on 5 to get back to even-par after the soft bogey on [No.] 4, then I just got on that bogey train at the end."

McIlroy's driver has long been his greatest weapon, as his combination of distance and accuracy has consistently made him the consensus best driver of the ball on the PGA Tour. However, this year, he's found himself oddly uncomfortable with a driver in his hands, noting he's struggled with a two-way miss that sounds familiar to most weekend golfers.