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PGA Championship 2026: Rory McIlroy only needed one NSFW word to describe odd round that included a bad career-first
TL;DR
Rory McIlroy struggled at the PGA Championship 2026, finishing with a four-over-par 74, seven shots behind the leader. He expressed his frustration with a single expletive.
Key points
- Rory McIlroy scored four-over-par 74
- He is seven shots behind the early leader
- McIlroy expressed frustration with one expletive
Rory McIlroyPGA Championship 2026
Rory McIlroy's chances of pulling off the calendar Grand Slam took a major hit on Thursday. The reigning Masters champ opened the PGA Championship with a four-over-par 74 that left him seven shots back of the early lead. Needless to say, the 37-year-old wasn't pleased with the result.
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When asked to describe his round after, McIlroy offered only one, colorful word.
"Sh--," McIlroy said.
McIlroy was then asked to elaborate.
"I started missing fairways. 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—you know, I didn't have great angles either. Then obviously you start missing it just off the edges of these greens, it gets tricky," McIlroy said. "Yeah, I felt like I did okay. I made that birdie on 5 to get back to even-par after the soft bogey on 4, then I just got on that bogey train at the end."
The dreaded bogey train. No golfer wants to hop aboard it, but you usually don't see one of McIlroy's stature taking that ride. But that's exactly what McIlroy did down the stretch.
After birdieing Aronimink's par-3 fifth—McIlroy's 14th hole of the day—to get back to even par, Rory ripped off four consecutive bogeys to finish his round. And according to stats guru Justin Ray, that's the first time McIlroy has ever done that. In nearly 1,000 career PGA Tour rounds.
On the bright side for McIlroy, he also had a one-word answer when asked if his toe—which caused him to cut a practice round short earlier in the week—bothered him at all.
"No," McIlroy replied.
McIlroy will have until 2:05 ET on Friday to tee off for his second round. And he'll be hoping to catch a birdie train to get back into contention.
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Q&A
What was Rory McIlroy's score at the PGA Championship 2026?
Rory McIlroy finished the first round with a score of four-over-par 74.
How far behind is Rory McIlroy from the leader at the PGA Championship 2026?
He is seven shots back from the early leader after the first round.
What did Rory McIlroy say to describe his round at the PGA Championship 2026?
He described his round with a single expletive, saying 'Sh--.'