During each of his four Major victories, Rory McIlroy ended day one either with the clubhouse lead or a shot off top spot.
Having shot a 65, two 66s and a 67 in his opening round of those victories, it is no wonder the Northern Irishman wants a fast start when he teed off at the US Open at Pebble Beach on Thursday.
On Wednesday McIlroy was given a reminder of how important it is to be among the early pacesetters by Johnny Miller, the 1973 US Open champion.
“Johnny told me that if you look at the history of Major championships, that first round is so important,” said McIlroy. “The Majors I’ve won, I’ve started every one really well.”
The 30-year-old could rarely have made worse starts to his past three US Opens, however, missing the cut on each occasion. And at the opening two Majors of this year, first rounds of 73 and 72 at the Masters and US PGA respectively meant he was playing catch-up.
“My first rounds at Augusta and Bethpage put me behind the eight ball,” he said.
“It’s hard to catch up, especially with Major championships being played on the toughest courses.”
Having shot a 61 in the final round on his way to victory at the Canadian Open on Sunday, McIlroy is in the type of form which suggests he could shoot another low opening round.
The four-time Major winner believes he is playing with a freedom he last experienced in 2016, when he sealed the lucrative FedEx Cup.
“If I can take that freedom that I played with on Sunday and get off to a good start, I’ll hopefully be right in the tournament from the get go and stay there,” he said.
