Sept 22 (Reuters) - Rory McIlroy's roller-coaster opening round at the Tour Championship on Thursday was not ideal for stroke play but just about perfect for the match play format of next week's Ryder Cup.
Northern Irishman McIlroy is the only member of the European Ryder Cup team in the 30-man field at East Lake in Atlanta, where eight players from the United States lineup are in action ahead of next week's showdown in Chaska, Minnesota.
The former world number one had consecutive double-bogeys midway through his round, preceded by three straight early birdies and followed by an even better late run of four successive birdies.