Bogey-free, the 38-year-old South African strolled round Royal St George’s in a nifty six-under par 64 to claim the early lead in the 149th Open Championship.
McIlroy finds himself this year on the verge of missing the cut for just the second time at Augusta National and for the first time since 2010, his second time playing the tournament.
The four-month gap between May and September is going to have an influence on the kind of golf and the sorts of shots the perennially sizeable galleries will be treated to this week.
Matt Fitzpatrick just turned 23, looks like he’s 13, yet now is a four-time European Tour winner. How the understated Englishman continues to climb in the pro game.
At 37, there are changes in Sergio Garcia’s life and his golf. Now in such a serene personal place, he is primed to capitalise quickly off the Masters.