(Reuters) - Rory McIlroy, a picture of relaxation on his first visit to the wine country of California's Napa Valley, took advantage of ideal scoring conditions at Silverado Resort to surge into contention for the Frys.com Open on Thursday.
Having set his sights on making a fast start to the season in the opening event on the 2015-16 PGA Tour, the Northern Irish world number three fired a four-under-par 68 on the sun-splashed North Course to sit five strokes off the early pace.
McIlroy rebounded from an early bogey with two birdies on his outward nine, then picked up three more shots after the turn to climb into the upper reaches of the leaderboard in the idyllic surrounds of Silverado Country Club.