HOYLAKE, England – Unless he was perusing Twitter on Thursday morning, Rory McIlroy couldn’t have possibly known the historical stakes of his 10-foot par putt late Thursday at The Open.
But pick your favorite stat.
Maybe it’s the fact that all but two of the past 52 Open winners have been within five shots of the lead after the opening round.
Or perhaps it’s this one: 23 consecutive Open winners have been at or within that magic number after Day 1.
And that’s exactly the precarious position, five shots back, that McIlroy found himself Thursday after a pair of back-nine birdies on a day that proved trickier than many anticipated.