ORLANDO, Florida – Rory McIlroy was in the middle of making five straight birdies Thursday afternoon at Bay Hill when Mark Fulcher, caddie for Francesco Molinari, turned to a small group of media following McIlroy’s group.
“This is the best I’ve seen him play,” said Fulcher, who was a part of many McIlroy groupings during his 11 years on Justin Rose’s bag.
McIlroy later called his opening 6-under 66, which gave him an early lead at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, his best round of the year.
“I saw a lot of really positive signs out there today,” said McIlroy, who opened the new year in Abu Dhabi with a 64 but had since broken 70 just six times in 17 worldwide rounds while, more importantly, fighting his swing.