#rory-mcilroy

#rory-mcilroy

After his 'Fleetwood Mac' reunion ended in perfect harmony as he and an on-song Tommy Fleetwood thumped Collin Morikawa and Harris English 5&4 in the morning fourballs, he was engulfed in a thrilling fourballs battle where drama was never far away. It came down to the last putt where the Irishman was millimetres away from giving his side a 6-2 first-day lead. Instead he and Shane Lowry had to settle for a half against Sam Burns and Patrick Cantlay.

Honestly, I felt a little rushed out there for the last 12 holes. We got put on the clock pretty early, and then the first official went away, and then we put on the clock for the last three holes to try to make time up. And it's hard because you feel a bit rushed. You're playing some tough holes and our group has to deal with a lot more than any other group on the course.

Rory McIlroy, after winning the Masters, purchased all 1,100 remaining pin flags from the gift shop, commemorating his 17-year journey to the championship.

"Look, I feel the support of an entire country out there, which is a wonderful position to be in, but at the same time, you don't want to let them down."

Gotterup handled it all with poise to go with his great strength. He delivered all the right shots -- the short birdie putt on the par-3 12th to build a two-shot lead, the 10-foot birdie on the par-5 16th to restore a two-shot lead.