McIlroy frustrated by the lack of progress in PGA Tour/PIF negotiations

Rory McIlroy was running a little hot when he came off the golf course after his opening round at East Lake, but even though his starting six-shot deficit to Scottie Scheffler is now 10, it wasn’t his golf that had him hot under the collar.

“Yeah, look, August in the south, geez, I’ve been coming back here for 12 years, so it’s to be expected. But yeah, it was hot and humid,” he said.

“Yeah, this week is all about just trying to conserve as much energy as possible. I think it’s going to get a little cooler at the weekend, which is nice.”

A slow start saw McIlroy reach the turn at +1, but three birdies in a bogey-free back nine saw him card a two-under 69 and despite the enormity of the challenge of reeling in a free-flowing Scheffler, he’s still clinging to hope that he can land a fourth FedEx Cup title.

I’m happy with how I hung in there and had a good finish. When I saw Scottie had gotten to 14, I was like, oh, got to try to just hang on to the coattails a little bit,” he explained.

“Still feel like I’ve got a chance, and it was nice to finish the way I did.”

McIlroy has a great record at East Lake, but the golf course he’s facing this week is slightly different having been redesigned over the past year. But that’s not to say that it’s not to his liking anymore.

“I love the restoration,” he said. “I love the golf course. It’s probably six months away from being perfect just because of the firmness of the greens.