Matt McCarty leads by one at Truist as Rory McIlroy struggles to make birdies
Matt McCarty shot an 8-under 63 with nine birdies at Quail Hollow to take a one-shot lead over Sungjae Im. Im was on his final hole when rain halted play until Friday.
CHARLOTTE, N. C. — Matt McCarty couldn’t stop making birdies.
Rory McIlroy thought he was never going to make one. McCarty followed up four straight top 25 finishes on the PGA Tour with nine birdies at Quail Hollow to shoot an 8-under 63 on Thursday for a one-shot lead over Sungjae Im at the Truist Championship before the round was called because of rain. Im was on his final hole when the skies opened up.
He, along with a handful of others, will complete the round on Friday. Playing for the first time since winning his second consecutive Masters more than three weeks ago, McIlroy looked rusty at times on a course where he has dominated, winning four times while setting several tournament scoring records. The world No.
2 player made 17 straight pars to open the round before finally getting a birdie putt to drop on No. 9 and celebrating by sarcastically thrusting both arms high in the air. “I was thinking I can’t remember the last time I played a round of golf and didn’t have a birdie,” McIlroy said.