Rory McIlroy picked up his first ace on the PGA Tour, but America’s Denny McCarthy took the opening round lead with a blistering 60 at the Travelers Championship in Connecticut.
The Northern Irishman’s hole-in-one on the 214-yard eighth was the clear highlight on a mixed session for the US Open runner-up, who finished two-under-par on a day of low scores.
It was McIlroy’s first ace in competition since he made one in Abu Dhabi on the European tour in 2015.
“5-iron to 115 yards slightly back into the wind off the right. And, yeah, as hole in ones go, I’ve had them in the past where it has been like an okay shot and you get a little lucky. That was the best shot of the day that I hit.
“Obviously a bonus for it to go in the hole, but it was really cool. I played pretty averagely up until that point. Felt like that hole in one got me going a little bit. Birdied the next couple holes after that and sort of got me into the tournament a bit.”
Meanwhile, McCarthy shot the lowest round of his career after setting a blistering early pace with four straight birdies to open his tournament.
He added five more without dropping a shot en route to a score of 10-under-par.
He leads by two from compatriot Keegan Bradley and Australian veteran Adam Scott.
“It was nice to play in the afternoon I thought today,” said McCarthy. “I played early at the U.S. Open on Thursday and you never know. Like you’re expecting it to play hard, and then obviously like middle of the round you’re like, oh, maybe it’s not playing that hard. Guys are 6- or 7-under.
“It was nice to know from the start that it was gettable. The back nine here is one of my favorite nine holes on TOUR. It’s very risk-reward. If you’re playing well you can shoot 5-, 6-under; if you’re not playing well it can beat you up.
“I like the back nine a lot so I came out firing and was playing really well to start.”
Ireland’s Shane Lowry is four shots back after carding a bogey-free round of 64.
