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Rory McIlroy makes DISASTROUS start to The Open as golf star tees it up at first major since his US Open heartbreak amid Eric Stoll reunion
Rory McIlroy's major misery picked up where it left off as his trek around treacherous Troon Thursday morning was as turbulent as both his professional and personal life.
The Northern Irishman headed to the 152nd Open Championship at Royal Troon with the aim of brushing off his US Open heartbreak and sealing his first major victory in ten years.
However, McIlroy's opening round of the final major of 2024 did not go according to plan with a score of seven-over plundering his hopes.
The 35-year-old, playing in his first major since his brief sabbatical amid US Open implosion and divorce U-turn drama, suffered agony in Ayrshire.
McIlroy opened his quest to end his major drought with a bogey five - an omen of what was to come. He managed to claw a shot back at the third but disaster struck at the eighth.
Rory McIlroy suffered a disastrous first round at the Open Championship on Thursday
He was one of the early victims of the infamous Postage Stamp hole, Royal Troon's calling card.
Despite only playing 123 yards, the tiny green at the short par-three is fatal. Miss and you're in trouble - something McIlroy learnt the hard way.
The four-time major winner found one of the lethal, steep-sided bunkers to the right of the green and paid the price with his first attempt to escape finding the putting surface - albeit briefly - before it trundled all the way back to its sandy grave. The error marked a double bogey for McIlroy and the beginning of the death of his round.
From there, there was no redemption. The links courses of the British Open are notorious for rarely offering up shots, and devastatingly harder to claw back from.
Bogeys at the tenth and 15th along with another double at the 11th followed, sinking McIlroy further down the leaderboard.
More bunker trouble at the 18th, this time in the form of the sandy traps lining the fairway, sealed his sentence of seven-over.
After falling excruciatingly short to Bryson DeChambeau last month, McIlroy stepped away from the spotlight to expel the painful memories of his Pinehurst nightmare. Yet if his opening round is anything to by, it clearly still haunts him.
Holding a two-shot lead during the final round of last month's major, McIlroy carded three bogeys across the final five holes - missing two putts from a combined distance of seven feet.
The Norther Irishman carded an opening seven-over to extend his major misery
His briefly-estranged wife Erica Stoll joined him at the Scottish Open last week
He was one of the early victims of the infamous Postage Stamp hole, Royal Troon's calling card
He fled the course a matter of minutes after DeChambeau wrapped up victory in North Carolina, not to be seen again until he stood on the tee at The Renaissance Club last week - this time with wife Erica Stoll in tow.
McIlroy's US Open heartbreak may have been soothed by the rekindling of his romance with his briefly-estranged wife.
On the eve of the US Open, he announced he was calling off the divorce from his wife of seven years and mother of his daughter, Poppy.
It was only a month prior, before the PGA Championship in May, that McIlroy announced that he and Erica were to split due to their marriage being 'irretrievably broken'.
During their short-lived separation, rumors linked the PGA Tour star to CBS Sports reporter Amanda Balionis, 38, whom he was seen hugging after the pair did an interview at the RBC Canadian Open at Hamilton Golf and Country Club in Hamilton, Ontario.
But on the Tuesday before the tournament, McIlroy said in a statement: 'There have been rumors about my personal life recently, which is unfortunate. Responding to each rumor is a fool’s game.
'Over the past weeks, Erica and I have realized that our best future was as a family together. Thankfully, we have resolved our differences and look forward to a new beginning.'
He had aimed to brush off his US Open heartbreak at the treacherous Royal Troon
McIlroy (left) has called off his divorce proceeding from Stoll (right) last month
McIlroy and CBS reporter Amanda Balionis had sparked rumors of a romance between the two, especially after fans noticed her wedding ring has been notably absent in recent photos (pictured with McIlroy at the Wells Fargo Championship on May 11)
McIlroy's attorney Thomas Sasser filed a Notice of Voluntary Dismissal on his behalf on June 11 in Palm Beach County Courthouse after he and Erica reportedly held secret meetings at their $22m Florida home for a month in a bid to salvage their marriage.
Last week, the couple were spotted in a rare sighting on a London dinner date with his Ryder Cup teammates and their spouses. The dinner marked one of the rare occasions that McIlroy and Erica have been sighted together since reuniting.
Yet, while the four-time major winner may have smoothed out his marital woes, it hasn't extended to the golf course.
With Stoll expected to join her husband at a major championship for the first time since the reunion, she may find herself offering up a shoulder for him to cry on.