Rory McIlroy switched back to his old putter for the Mexico Championship and it made a huge difference. It helps that he's still hitting the ball like the No. 1 player in the world.
McIlroy ripped a 4-iron from 275 yards into the thin air at Chapultepec to 15 feet for eagle on his second hole Thursday, made five more birdies and opened the Mexico Championship with a 6-under 65 for a two-shot lead.
This is the only World Golf Championship that McIlroy hasn't won as he tries to join Dustin Johnson as the only players to conquer all four of them.
Justin Thomas and Bubba Watson were at 67.
Abraham Ancer of Mexico got some of the biggest cheers, especially when he ran off three consecutive birdies to overcome a rough start. He opened with a 70.
The course, at about 7,800 feet above sea level, is ideal for McIlroy the way he launched the ball.
But this was about his putting. He took only 26 putts and ranked No. 4 in the key putting statistic for the round. He attributes that to his regular 34-inch putter.
A week ago at Riviera, he tried a 35-inch putter to help get his shoulder and elbow in a better position. But he said it hurt with lining up the putts, and it cost him. McIlroy was tied for the 54-hole lead and shot 73 in the final round — including a triple bogey on the fifth hole — and tied for fifth
“It didn't quite work out the way I want it to, so I went back to the 34-inch,” he said. “I just felt a little bit more comfortable today and was seeing my lines a little bit better. And yeah, it was a good day.”
The best example of his advantage was the par-5 15th hole early in his round. U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland, who hits low-trajectory bullets, caught it a little high on the face of the club and it came out low with little spin. McIlroy launched a rocket and was 55 yards past him.
McIlroy played nicely last year, finishing at 16-under 268, and lost by five shots to Dustin Johnson, another guy whom the course suits well — just not this year.
