Rory McIlroy says staying “aggressive” after a fast start was key to taking a one-shot first-round lead at the US PGA Championship in Oklahoma.
He made four birdies in his first six holes on his way to a five-under 65.
A birdie at the last saw McIlroy finish with a flourish after two late bogeys threatened to stifle his momentum.
“When you get off to a good start, you can sometimes start to be careful or give yourself more margin for error, but I stuck to my gameplan,” he said.
“I stayed aggressive. I stuck to what I was trying to do out there, which I was pleased with.”
Playing alongside Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth in a blockbuster group at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, McIlroy charged to the top of the leaderboard with four consecutive birdies after opening with a pair of pars from the 10th hole.
Two further birdies saw him move into a three-shot lead before bogeys at the sixth and eighth, threatened to derail the round.
“It’s very easy to make bogeys out here,” reflected the 33-year-old.
“You get yourself just a little bit out of position, you catch a little bit of grain around the green, it’s tricky.
“You get yourself out of position here, you just try to make a par and run to the next.”
McIlroy is seeking a third US PGA triumph, eight years on from his last major victory which came at the 2014 US PGA at Valhalla.
That win was a fourth major success for the then-25-year-old, but he has been unable to add to his tally since, with slow starts too often taking him out of contention.
A stirring Sunday at this year’s Masters came too late to pose a genuine challenge to winner Scottie Scheffler, but did serve as a reminder of the remarkable quality that McIlroy possesses.
“I’ve been playing well coming in here, carrying some good form,” he said after his round on Thursday.
“Obviously I took a lot from that round at Augusta, played well up at DC at the Wells Fargo, and played good in the practice rounds earlier this week.
“I think when your game’s feeling like that, it’s a matter of going out there and really sticking to your gameplan, executing as well as you possibly can and just sort of staying in your own little world.
“I did that really well. It was nice to get off to a good start and keep it going.”
