MEXICO CITY (AP) — Rory McIlroy flirted with a hole-in-one on the same par 4 where Tiger Woods hit out-of-bounds with his first shot in Mexico. That’s about how their days went Thursday in the WGC-Mexico Championship. McIlroy, already off to a solid start on the back nine, hit a 2-iron on the 305-yard opening hole at Chapultepec Golf Club that landed on the front of the green and was rolling just left of the pin when it settled 6 feet away, leading to an eagle that carried him to an 8-under 63 and a one-shot lead over Dustin Johnson. Woods got the raucous Mexican introduction for his opening tee shot, a 5-wood that also landed on the green — the wrong green. The ball bounced hard off a temporary green to the left and beyond the out-of-bounds stake into the bushes. And then he nearly did it again, and ultimately had to get up-and-down from 60 feet away in a bunker to escape with double bogey. After a burst of birdies, he struggled to make much the rest of the way and opened with a 71. “I pulled across it to try and cut it and hit it dead off the toe,” Woods said. “Hit both of them dead off the toe.” McIlroy’s 2-iron was the signature shot in an exquisite start to this World Golf Championship. He was 6 under through an eight-hole stretch in the middle of the round, and a 20-foot birdie on No. 8 toward the end of his round is what gave him the lead over Johnson, who played in the group behind. It was his second straight week with a 63. “I wouldn’t say it was easy,” McIlroy said. “I hit a lot of good golf shots, but I left myself a lot of tap-ins for birdies. As 63s go, I shot 63 at Riviera last week, but this felt probably a little more stress-free.” He described his 2-iron as close to perfect, just how he envisioned it, a little cut to take off some distance in the thin air of Mexico City. The only blemish on his round came at the par-5 sixth, when he pulled his tee shot into the trees and looked as though he would have to punch out back to the fairway. Standing over the ball, McIlroy was looking up. He saw a gap between two trees with a tiny limbs, so even if he clipped one, his 8-iron should have been enough to give him a reasonable shot at the green. There was one limb that concerned him, which McIlroy described as “something a dog would pick up.” “The one branch it could not hit, it hit,” he said. “It all levels out at the end of the day. I’m just in a good frame of mind, managing my game well, putting went good. And if you putt well, it takes pressure off the rest of your game. And that’s where it’s at.” Johnson won the WGC-Mexico Championship two years ago, part of three straight victories during the best stretch of golf he ever played. Johnson said he struggled with his swing at Pebble Beach and Riviera, and worked all week on the range in Mexico. “It’s starting to feel the way it did two years ago,” he said. Much like McIlroy, there wasn’t a lot of stress in his game. Johnson only missed three of the tree-lined fairways and was rarely out of position except on No. 12, where he lost his drive well to the right. He had no shot to the green, so he tried to put it in the bunker. It went in and out of the bunker, onto the fringe and he holed the putt from 20 feet for his third straight birdie to start the round. He also had back-to-back eagle putts, driving the first green to 20 feet and hitting driver on the 383-yard second hole over the trees and onto the green — as Bubba Watson was putting — to 18 feet. He made birdie on both. “I feel like I’ve got this altitude thing figured out,” he said. Justin Thomas, who lost in a playoff last year to Phil Mickelson, chipped in from 50 feet behind the green on No. 15 for eagle and was at 66. He was tied with Matt Kuchar, who already won in Mexico once this season at the Mayakoba Classic. Jordan Spieth, with his father filling in because caddie Michael Greller’s father died, opened with a 75. Woods was fortunate he only started with a double bogey. He didn’t realize immediately that his first tee shot was out-of-bounds, and he had reason to think his second tee shot would turn out the same. “It was on the exact same line,” Woods said, who added he thought for a second, “This could be a pretty big number.” He had to play from the bushes to punch it into the bunker, and blasted out to a foot for his double bogey. After his stretch of three straight birdies got him under par, he twice missed par putts from about 4 feet, though he holed a 15-foot par putt on the 17th. He summed up his round aptly: “Got off to a bad start. Got it going after a little bit there, made three in a row. Couldn’t make any birdies after that for some reason. It is what it is.” Mickelson, two weeks removed from his victory at Pebble Beach, could relate. He bogeyed three of his first four holes on the back, shot 40 on the front and opened with a 79.
Rory McIlroy Leads Dustin Johnson at 2019 WGC Mexico Championship
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2nd Round 3-Balls – R. Werenski / R. Sloan / C. Young | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Carson Young | +125 |
Richy Werenski | +185 |
Roger Sloan | +230 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – J. Walker / A. Smalley / S. Gutschewski | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Alex Smalley | -135 |
Jimmy Walker | +250 |
Scott Gutschewski | +330 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – J. Vegas / B. Hossler / D. Wu | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Beau Hossler | +130 |
Dylan Wu | +200 |
Jhonattan Vegas | +200 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – G. Higgo / L. Griffin / D. Thompson | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Davis Thompson | +140 |
Garrick Higgo | +185 |
Lanto Griffin | +200 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – S. Kang / D. Lipsky / S. Stevens | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Sam Stevens | +120 |
David Lipsky | +170 |
Sung Kang | +280 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – H. Buckley / J. Suh / H. Hall | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Justin Suh | +150 |
Hayden Buckley | +185 |
Harry Hall | +190 |
2nd Round Match-Up – S. Stevens vs J. Suh | |
Type: 2nd Round Match-Up – Status: OPEN | |
Sam Stevens | -125 |
Justin Suh | +105 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – S. Power / R. Brehm / J. Dahmen | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Seamus Power | +135 |
Joel Dahmen | +160 |
Ryan Brehm | +250 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – J. Knapp / L. List / A. Schenk | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Adam Schenk | +140 |
Jake Knapp | +185 |
Luke List | +200 |
2nd Round Match-Up – N. Hardy vs J. Dahmen | |
Type: 2nd Round Match-Up – Status: OPEN | |
Nick Hardy | -120 |
Joel Dahmen | +100 |
2nd Round Match-Up – L. List vs R. Fox | |
Type: 2nd Round Match-Up – Status: OPEN | |
Luke List | -115 |
Ryan Fox | -105 |
2nd Round Match-Up – A. Schenk vs C. Kim | |
Type: 2nd Round Match-Up – Status: OPEN | |
Adam Schenk | -130 |
Chan Kim | +110 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – N. Hardy / J.J. Spaun / B. Snedeker | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
J J Spaun | +130 |
Nick Hardy | +140 |
Brandt Snedeker | +300 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – S. Jaeger / N. Dunlap / B. Hun An | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Byeong Hun An | +145 |
Stephan Jaeger | +150 |
Nick Dunlap | +250 |
2nd Round Match-Up – S. Jaeger vs K.H. Lee | |
Type: 2nd Round Match-Up – Status: OPEN | |
Stephan Jaeger | -120 |
K.H. Lee | +100 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – S.W. Kim / K.H. Lee / A. Scott | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Si Woo Kim | +140 |
Adam Scott | +190 |
K H Lee | +200 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – D. Riley / C. Ramey / Z. Johnson | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Davis Riley | +150 |
Chad Ramey | +165 |
Zach Johnson | +210 |
2nd Round Match-Up – A. Scott vs S.W. Kim | |
Type: 2nd Round Match-Up – Status: OPEN | |
Si Woo Kim | -125 |
Adam Scott | +105 |
2nd Round Match-Up – T. Detry vs A. Rai | |
Type: 2nd Round Match-Up – Status: OPEN | |
Aaron Rai | -110 |
Thomas Detry | -110 |
Insperity Invitational | |
Type: Winner – Status: OPEN | |
Steven Alker | +450 |
Padraig Harrington | +600 |
Stephen Ames | +1200 |
Jerry Kelly | +1400 |
Miguel Angel Jimenez | +1400 |
David Toms | +1600 |
Ernie Els | +1600 |
Alex Cejka | +2000 |
Retief Goosen | +2000 |
KJ Choi | +2200 |
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1st Round 3-Balls – J. Leonard / S. Ames / P. Harrington | |
Type: 1st Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Padraig Harrington | +105 |
Stephen Ames | +170 |
Justin Leonard | +330 |
1st Round 3-Balls – S. Alker / R. Goosen / E. Els | |
Type: 1st Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Steven Alker | -105 |
Ernie Els | +230 |
Retief Goosen | +260 |
1st Round 3-Balls – M.A. Jimenez / J. Kelly / P. Broadhurst | |
Type: 1st Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Jerry Kelly | +160 |
Miguel Angel Jimenez | +160 |
Paul Broadhurst | +220 |
1st Round 3-Balls – V. Singh / K.J. Choi / D. Toms | |
Type: 1st Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
David Toms | +130 |
K.J. Choi | +170 |
Vijay Singh | +250 |
1st Round 3-Balls – C. Montgomerie / A. Cejka / D. Clarke | |
Type: 1st Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Alex Cejka | +120 |
Darren Clarke | +170 |
Colin Montgomerie | +280 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – M. Kim / A. Noren / J. Lower | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Alex Noren | +100 |
Justin Lower | +185 |
Michael Kim | +300 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – K. Chappell / T. Pendrith / K. Yu | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Taylor Pendrith | +120 |
Kevin Yu | +160 |
Kevin Chappell | +300 |
2nd Round Match-Up – K. Yu vs T. Pendrith | |
Type: 2nd Round Match-Up – Status: OPEN | |
Taylor Pendrith | -120 |
Kevin Yu | +100 |
2nd Round Match-Up – A. Noren vs J. Day | |
Type: 2nd Round Match-Up – Status: OPEN | |
Alex Noren | -110 |
Jason Day | -110 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – C.T. Pan / M. Trainer / G. Sigg | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Greyson Sigg | +130 |
C T Pan | +140 |
Martin Trainer | +320 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – R. Palmer / P. Kizzire / B. Taylor | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Ryan Palmer | +120 |
Patton Kizzire | +145 |
Ben Taylor | +330 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – B. Garnett / T. Hoge / D. Berger | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Tom Hoge | +110 |
Daniel Berger | +175 |
Brice Garnett | +300 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – M. Wallace / K. Kisner / C. Champ | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Matt Wallace | +115 |
Cameron Champ | +135 |
Kevin Kisner | +400 |
2nd Round Match-Up – K. Mitchell vs T. Hoge | |
Type: 2nd Round Match-Up – Status: OPEN | |
Keith Mitchell | -110 |
Tom Hoge | -110 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – C. Villegas / T. Kim / M. Hughes | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Tom Kim | -105 |
Mackenzie Hughes | +140 |
Camilo Villegas | +500 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – V. Norrman / S. Cink / M. Kuchar | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Matt Kuchar | +150 |
Vincent Norrman | +165 |
Stewart Cink | +220 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – N. Echavarria / C. Reavie / K. Mitchell | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Keith Mitchell | -105 |
Nico Echavarria | +200 |
Chez Reavie | +300 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – M. Hubbard / M. NeSmith / D. Ghim | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Doug Ghim | +145 |
Mark Hubbard | +165 |
Matt NeSmith | +225 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – N. Lashley / A. Baddeley / M. Schmid | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Nate Lashley | +135 |
Matti Schmid | +160 |
Aaron Baddeley | +250 |
2nd Round Match-Up – N. Lashley vs M. Schmid | |
Type: 2nd Round Match-Up – Status: OPEN | |
Nate Lashley | -120 |
Matti Schmid | +100 |
2nd Round Match-Up – M. McNealy vs D. Ghim | |
Type: 2nd Round Match-Up – Status: OPEN | |
Maverick McNealy | -120 |
Doug Ghim | +100 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – K. Streelman / B. Wu / R. Shelton | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Brandon Wu | +160 |
Robby Shelton | +160 |
Kevin Streelman | +210 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – J. Hahn / Z. Blair / T. Montgomery | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Taylor Montgomery | +150 |
Zac Blair | +175 |
James Hahn | +200 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – M. McNealy / J. Bramlett / B. Kohles | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Maverick McNealy | +135 |
Joseph Bramlett | +175 |
Ben Kohles | +225 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – B. Martin / C. Hadley / C. Tarren | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Chesson Hadley | +150 |
Ben Martin | +165 |
Callum Tarren | +215 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – R. MacIntyre / T. Crowe / P. Fishburn | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Robert MacIntyre | +130 |
Patrick Fishburn | +190 |
Trace Crowe | +220 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – Z. Dou / C. Gotterup / R. Pereda | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Chris Gotterup | +120 |
Zecheng Dou | +160 |
Raul Pereda | +275 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – J. Bridgeman / B. Hale / M. McGreevy | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Jacob Bridgeman | +105 |
Max McGreevy | +145 |
Blaine Hale Jr | +400 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – J. Stanger / M. Meissner / R. McCormick | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Jimmy Stanger | +150 |
Mac Meissner | +160 |
Ryan McCormick | +225 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – T. Olesen / W. Furr / P. Kuest | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Thorbjorn Olesen | +140 |
Peter Kuest | +160 |
Wilson Furr | +240 |
2nd Round 3-Balls – A. Smotherman / S. Valimaki / B. Hopfinger | |
Type: 2nd Round 3-Balls – Status: OPEN | |
Sami Valimaki | +145 |
Austin Smotherman | +160 |
Brad Hopfinger | +225 |
Scottie Scheffler Specials | |
Type: Scottie Scheffler Specials – Status: OPEN | |
Win Any Remaining Signature Event | -200 |
PGA Championship (Top 10 Finish) & US Open (Top 10 Finish) | +115 |
PGA Championship (Top 10 Finish) & The Open (Top 10 Finish) | +125 |
US Open (Top 10 Finish) & The Open (Top 10 Finish) | +135 |
All Remaining Signature Events – Top 10 Finish | +200 |
PGA Championship (Top 5 Finish) & The Open (Top 5 Finish) | +200 |
US Open (Top 5 Finish) & The Open (Top 5 Finish) | +210 |
PGA Championship (Top 10 Finish) & US Open (Top 10 Finish) & The Open (Top 10 Finish) | +240 |
PGA Championship (Top 5 Finish) & US Open (Top 5 Finish) | +280 |
Win 2 Remaining Signature Events | +450 |
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PGA Championship 2024 | |
Type: Winner – Status: OPEN | |
Scottie Scheffler | +350 |
Jon Rahm | +1200 |
Rory McIlroy | +1200 |
Ludvig Aberg | +1600 |
Brooks Koepka | +2000 |
Xander Schauffele | +2000 |
Bryson DeChambeau | +2500 |
Collin Morikawa | +2500 |
Max Homa | +2500 |
Patrick Cantlay | +2500 |
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Requests | |
Type: Requests – Status: OPEN | |
Rory McIlroy – RBC Canadian Open Winner | +1000 |
Miles Russell – Win a Major before 30th birthday | +3500 |
Scottie Scheffler & Nelly Korda – Win All Remaining 2024 Majors | +50000 |
US Open 2024 | |
Type: Winner – Status: OPEN | |
Scottie Scheffler | +350 |
Jon Rahm | +1200 |
Rory McIlroy | +1200 |
Ludvig Aberg | +1600 |
Collin Morikawa | +2000 |
Viktor Hovland | +2000 |
Brooks Koepka | +2500 |
Cameron Smith | +2500 |
Patrick Cantlay | +2500 |
Xander Schauffele | +2500 |
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The Open Championship 2024 | |
Type: Winner – Status: OPEN | |
Scottie Scheffler | +500 |
Jon Rahm | +1000 |
Rory McIlroy | +1000 |
Viktor Hovland | +1100 |
Brooks Koepka | +2000 |
Cameron Smith | +2000 |
Cameron Young | +2000 |
Collin Morikawa | +2000 |
Ludvig Aberg | +2000 |
Jordan Spieth | +2500 |
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Requests | |
Type: Requests – Status: OPEN | |
The Open Championship – Alex Noren – Top 20 Finish | +200 |
Solheim Cup 2024 | |
Type: Winner – Status: OPEN | |
USA | -140 |
Europe | +135 |
Tie | +1200 |
Ryder Cup 2025 | |
Type: Winner – Status: OPEN | |
USA | -135 |
Europe | +135 |
Tie | +1000 |