Rory McIlroy found himself in a position that must have seemed vaguely familiar Thursday at the HSBC Champions. He was in the lead.
McIlroy looked more like a two-time major champion than someone who hasn’t won all year. He rarely had any stress and opened with a 7-under 65, building a two-shot lead after one round of this World Golf Championship.
“It felt good to be out there and in control of my golf ball,” McIlroy said. “If only one round, 18 holes. But it’s definitely the way I wanted and needed to start.”
Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, coming off a win last week in the BMW Masters across town, and Jamie Donaldson each had 67. U.S. Open champion Justin Rose and Jordan Spieth, starting his second full season on the PGA Tour, were among those at 68.
British Open champion Phil Mickelson had a chance to join McIlroy in the lead until it all went wrong. One shot behind with two holes to play, Mickelson hit two wedges into the water fronting the par-5 eighth green and took a quadruple-bogey 9. His second wedge landed some 30 feet beyond the pin and had so much spin that it raced off the green and down the bank into the water.
He hit another shot into the water on No. 9, and followed that with a brave shot to 2 feet to escape with only a bogey. He fell back to a 71.
But this day ultimately was about McIlroy, who started the season at No. 1 in the world and fell into a slump that has lasted longer than usual. He started the week with his first win of the year — OK, it was an 18-hole exhibition against Tiger Woods - though he carried that form to Sheshan International.
Bhullar scores 69 India's Gaganjeet Bhullar is hopeful of causing an upset after he opened his campaign with a three-under-par 69 to take a share of eighth place.
"There's still a lot of golf left and my hopes are really high. I'm playing well and striking the ball really well and I guess anything and everything is possible over the next three days," said Bhullar.
Bhullar's confidence comes from his battling performance where he overcame a stumbling start in his opening eight holes before finding his way back into the mix with five birdies starting from the par-four nine.
"I was two-over after eight holes and I guess I was trying to figure out the green speed then," said Bhullar.