Rory McIlroy in Canadian Open cut battle as he beds in new driver
The Masters champion had his driver ruled non-conforming at the PGA Championship two weeks ago and after struggling with a replacement, he put a new one in the bag at TPC Toronto, where a one-over 71 left him outside the top 100 and facing a cut battle today.
'I actually felt like I played OK,' said the Co Down man, who hit just nine greens in regulation but was happy to see his left miss with the driver turn into a more manageable miss to the right.
'It was my first outing with a new driver and I felt like that went pretty well. I hit some drives that I liked and that I liked to see, so that was encouraging.'
The world No 2 played the back nine blind in rainy conditions and dropped shots at the 12th and 17th before turning things around with three birdies in a row from the 18th.
But while he paid for missed fairways with bogeys at the eighth and ninth, he was still upbeat despite finding himself six shots behind early leaders Taylor Pendrith, Alex Smalley and Paul Peterson.
'Overall, I'm pretty happy with how I played,' he said. 'I'm still trying to work on some things, but I'm OK with where everything is. Hopefully, that's the end of the rain and it can firm up a little bit. It's a very gettable golf course, especially with how soft it is.
'I'm going to have to do a little bit better tomorrow to be here for the weekend and give myself a chance.'
As for the new driver, he said he was trying to work on his right miss.
'It's just trying to figure that out and manage it a little bit,' he explained. 'It's a nice feeling to get up the middle of the fairway and fully release it and know it's not going to go left on you. A little bit of practice this afternoon and get ready for tomorrow.'
On the Ladies European Tour, Kildare's Lauren Walsh roared into contention for her maiden win when she opened with a bogey-free, five-under 67 to grab a share of the lead in the Tenerife Women's Open.
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The Castlewarden star (24) birdied the 10th and 18th at Abama Golf before making further birdies at the first, third and fifth to share top spot with Denmark's Sofie Kibsgaard Nielsen, one clear of England's Eleanor Givens.
Anna Foster was 17th after a 71 as Canice Screene shot 75. Fellow rookies Sara Byrne and Annabel Wilson carded 77s.
At the DP World Tour's KLM Open, Conor Purcell fought back from a four-over-par front nine, but his one-over 73 left him with work to do to make the cut at The International in Amsterdam,
The Dubliner (27) made four bogeys on the back nine, two of them with three-putts, before following birdies at the first, third and sixth with another bogey at the par-three seventh.
He ended the day tied for 74th, nine shots behind Portugal's Ricardo Gouveia, whose 64 gave him a one-shot lead over Scotland's Connor Syme.
It was a better day on the HotelPlanner Tour for Ballymena's Dermot McElroy, who built on his third-place finish in Cadiz and opened with a four-under 67 in the Swiss Challenge in Lucerne.
'I've been working on the technical side of things for a while with my swing and decided a few weeks back to scrap the swing thoughts and just go out and play my usual game,' said McElroy, who was tied for 15th, four strokes behind England's David Horsey.
'I did it to be more consistent on the course, but obviously, my performances at the start of the year were poor enough.
'So I am happy to be back hitting my normal shots again and certainly more comfortable on the course as a result.'
Alex Maguire was 38th after a 69 with Liam Nolan, who is eighth in the rankings, a shot further back in 54th after a 70.
Level-par 71s left Jonny Caldwell and Max Kennedy joint 77th, while Mark Power's 74 left him 129th.
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