You need a bit of luck in this game. When Rory McIlroy found himself in the greenside bunker on the final hole of his first round in the Genesis Scottish Open, he clattered a hit and hope.
Those meddling golfing gods up there must have been doing something else as they let him away with one.
“As soon as I struck it, I went ‘oh no’ as I thought it was in the bunker on the other side of the green,” said McIlroy of a thump that, ultimately, turned out fine.
Wizardry or just a jammy so and so? We’ll give him the benefit of the doubt, eh? He is the Masters champion and world No 2, after all.
Playing the par-3 ninth – his last hole – McIlroy’s splash out of the sand could easily have generated an utterance more fruity than a simple ‘oh no’ as his ball hurtled through the air and looked destined to come to rest in another bunker.
“But thankfully the wind held it up a bit and it had enough spin to bring it back to the hole,” added the Northern Irishman of a shot that rolled back to within a couple of feet.
Crisis averted. “I got away with one there,” he said with a wry smile. Don’t let those golfing gods know, Rory.
McIlroy’s salvage operation saved his par and put the tin lid on a sprightly day’s work.
His five-under 65 left the 2023 Scottish Open champion in a share of the lead with a posse of players that included Tom Kim, Patrick Cantlay, Bernd Wiesberger and Rasmus Hojgaard.
It was a good day at the office even though he clocked in and began his shift with a bogey on the 10th, his first.
A trio of birdies followed before another leaked shot on he 18th but McIlroy upped the ante on his inward half.
He trundled in an 18-footer for an eagle on the first, picked up a couple more birdies at seven and eight and finished things off with that important sand save.
Less is more is the aim of the golfing game. It is with McIlroy’s schedule too. Since winning the Masters for the second season in a row in April, the 37-year-old has played in just four events, two of them majors.
He may be lightly raced but this thoroughbred is feeling the benefits of a reduced diary.
"The benefits are seeing my family more, feeling like I have a bit more balance in my life," he said.
"I feel like even though I have played pretty sparsely over the past few months, the starts of my tournaments have all been really good. So it's not like I'm coming in and starting slow, and the little bit of extra practice I think actually helps in some ways.
"One of the other benefits for me is that I'm nearly 20 years into this, and I need to do everything I can to keep my enthusiasm as high as possible. Playing a lighter schedule definitely does that.
"It's a very liberating feeling but again I can't get complacent. I still need to set goals. I felt like the grand slam last year was the destination - and I realised it wasn't. It's a continuous journey."
On a day when world No 1, Scottie Scheffler, and defending champion, Chris Gotterup, both posted 68s, US Open champion Wyndham Clark had a 67 and Jon Rahm toiled to a 73, Wiesberger continued his resurgence to form part of the leading quintet with a 65.
Asked where he feels he is in his career, the 40-year-old Austrian Ryder Cup player replied with a chuckle. “Just starting,” he said.
The Renaissance, of course, is a happy hunting ground for Wiesberger. He won the Scottish Open the first time it was played here back in 2019.
After a stint with the breakaway LIV series, Wiesberger returned to the DP World Tour in 2024 and won his ninth title on the European circuit this season in the Volvo China Open.
A third place finish in last weekend’s BMW International Open, meanwhile, earned him a place at next week’s Open at Royal Birkdale.
All is good and seven birdies in the space of 10 holes in round one had him rolling along with the elegance of the Blue Danube waltz.
He drained a putt of 50-feet on the 17th – his eighth – and holed a pitch from 80 yards for a birdie on the second.
“I don't think you can get it any better than today, beautiful skies and just a little breeze,” he said of the weather on the Firth of Forth.
“I think this is probably the best we can hope for. I'm in a really good place. I had a couple of rough years but worked my way through it.
“Right now, golf feels really nice and easy, and now I'll take as many rounds that feel like this as I can.”
Cantlay had a bogey-free 65 while Kim, who has put together an impressive body of work in the Scottish Open, reeled off four birdies in his last seven holes to join the throng at the summit.
As for Hojgaard? Well, the Dane made a telling advance as one of the late starters.
A cracking eagle on the seventh was followed by three birdies at 11, 13 and 14 as he got himself into the lead on his own at six-under.
A double-bogey on the 16th, though, put his gas at a peep but he did rally with a birdie from 13-feet on the 17th to share the lead.
Brooks Koepka was lurking just a shot off the pace after a solid 66. Did he fancy a more robust links examination?
“No, I played the Dunhill last year and it poured, it blew,” said the multiple major winner, after a shimmering summer outing in the Scottish sunshine.
“I’ve been ready for a nice day in links golf.”
Hopefully it lasts ...
