McIlroy was two shots behind American Michael Kim, who was bogey-free in a round of 64, and one behind the red-hot Tommy Fleetwood of England, who did not drop a shot as well in his round of 65.

More importantly, the two players who still have a mathematical chance of beating McIlroy, England’s Marco Penge and Tyrrell Hatton, did not have the best starts and were lagging far behind. Penge, playing alongside McIlroy, opened with a two-over 74 to be tied 46th in the 52-man field, while Hatton finished on 70 and was tied 22nd.

–SABC–