Rory McIlroy was non-existent during Round 1 of the 2018 Ryder Cup
Rory McIlroy, picking up where he left off at the 2018 Tour Championship — he shot a disappointing final round 74 while paired in the final group with Tiger Woods — recorded exactly zero birdies in 16 holes during his morning fourball match at the 2018 Ryder Cup.
This describes his morning round:
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Paired with Thorbjorn Olesen and taking on USA’s Dustin Johnson and Rickie Fowler, Rory made no birdies, while his partner Olesen made just one. In 1-of-3 European losses in Friday fourballs, the Rory/Olesen pairing lost 4&2.
As the only player of the 16 participants to not record a birdie, Rory’s performance was so lackluster that some golf media members were actually questioning whether the No. 6 player in the world and 4-time major champion should be benched for the afternoon foursomes matches.
Here’s a decision I’m sure Bjorn didn’t think he’d have to make at this stage: Do you sit Rory on Friday afternoon?
— Ryan Lavner (@RyanLavnerGC)
Can’t believe I’m saying it but you gotta sit Rory this afternoon, right?
— Shane Bacon (@shanebacon)
Does Bjorn bench Rory this afternoon?
— Alan Shipnuck (@AlanShipnuck)
That was not the case, however, as Rory joined Ian Poulter for the afternoon alternate-shot matchup against Webb Simpson and Bubba Watson.
Here are the matchups for the afternoon, as Europe will attempt to fight back against the 3-1 deficit.
