McIlroy off the mark with birdie
Rory McIlroy has made a promising start to the defence of his US PGA title.
The world number three is desperately seeking some form after a miserable season so far, but there have been some promising shoots from the young Ulsterman this week at the Oak Hill club in New York.
McIlroy made a brilliant start to his first round, making birdies from short range on the first, third and fourth holes.
But the former world number one then saw his approach to the fifth spin back into the water at the front of the green and did well to hole from eight feet to drop just one shot.
The man they're all trying to catch is Jim Furyk, who has a 1-shot lead over the rest of the field.
Furyk bogeyed his final hole to post a 5-under 65 that leaves him just a shot ahead of David Hearn of Canada.
World number one Tiger Woods, seeking his 15th major title but a first since the 2008 US Open, was two under after six holes but eventually finished one over after a double-bogey six on the ninth, his final hole.
The early starters enjoyed perfect scoring conditions with an overnight thunderstorm softening the fairways and greens, and Woods – fresh from winning his eighth WGC Bridgestone Invitational on Sunday by seven shots – scrambled par on his first two holes, the 10th and 11th.
A creek which runs across the 13th fairway around 300 yards from the tee meant Woods hit an iron off the tee, despite the par five measuring 598 yards, but after another iron left him 150 yards from the green the 37-year-old fired a superb approach to within two feet of the flag to set up his first birdie of the day.
Woods also birdied the par-three 15th, holing from 10ft, but missed a great chance on the second, his birdie attempt from three feet not even touching the hole.
A poor tee shot on the par-five fourth – the first time he had used a driver - contributed to another bogey and worse was to follow on the ninth, where he came up short of the green and then pitched into the face of a greenside bunker.
Furyk, looking to become the second 43-year-old in succession to win a major after Phil Mickelson’s Open triumph, was set to equal the course record of 64 when he reached six under, but bogeyed the last for a five-under 65.
The former US Open champion led by one from Canada’s Hearn, with Paul Casey joined on three under by American pair Robert Garrigus and Matt Kuchar and Australian Marcus Fraser.
