Three par saves to close left Rory McIlroy fortunate that he wasn’t further off the pace to start the Irish Open.
McIlroy overcame a rough start to post an even-par 72 that put him eight back of Lucas Herbert’s early lead at Mount Juliet.
“I just didn’t feel like I did that much wrong,” McIlroy said after the round. “I just didn’t hole many putts for birdie, and it was just sort of one of those days. Overall, just a bit of no momentum going forward, and in the end, I did well to keep it at level par.