- Rory McIlroy is four shots off the lead at the Arnold Palmer Invitational
- He admitted that his birdie on the 10th hole helped galvanize him after a rocky start.
- The Northern Irishman made six birdies in his last nine holes to place himself in T8.
Rory McIlroy is widely considered one of the greatest hitters on the PGA Tour, but on Saturday at the Arnold Palmer Invitational the Northern Irishman showed just how much power he possesses with driver in hand.
He also broke a unique record, unleashing a powerful drive on the 10th hole to become the first player since 2003 (the ShotLink era) to drive the green on the twisty par 4.
The hole stretches 400 yards long and features a slight curvature that moves from left to right. But McIlroy took that curve completely out of play, cutting the dog-leg corner with a sensational 365-yard drive that landed right on the edge of the green and slid toward the hole.
‘I wasn’t trying to get to the green!’ McIlroy persisted during his post-round interview, adding, “But it was nice to come up and see him there.”
Ahead of him, Tom Hoge and Justin Lower appeared not quite finished on the green, and one of their caddies watched McIlroy’s ball land before curiously approaching to see who it belonged to.
Rory McIlroy became the first person since 2003 to drive the green on the 10th hole at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
The Northern Irishman hit a powerful 365-yard drive to land his ball on the green of the 400-yard par-4 hole.
McIlroy’s impressive drive left him with a 60-foot putt for eagle, but he made his shot just short of the hole before making birdie.
After making two bogeys on the par-3 seventh and par-4 eighth, taking him to +2 at the turn, his birdie on the 10th was the strong start to the back nine that the 34-year-old perhaps needed.
Buoyed by his monster drive, he made six birdies in what was an epic streak that left him four shots behind current leaders Scottie Sheffler and Shane Lowry (-9) heading into Sunday.
After his round, McIlroy, who is ranked eighth, admitted that his momentum in 10th galvanized him after a few frustrating holes.
“It doesn’t feel much different from the Dubai Desert Classic at the beginning of the year,” he said, reflecting on his back nine. ‘I feel like I won that golf tournament in 27 holes. I shot 9 under on Saturday and 3 under on the front nine on Sunday, and I kind of cruised around, didn’t really do much else.
“When the golf course plays this hard, that’s it, you just need two really good stretches of nine holes, and then you can play conservatively and make a lot of pars the rest of the way.”
McIlroy is also notably first on the PGA Tour in shots taken from tee to green and is also first in total driving.
McIlroy’s shot plotter diagram shows how he cut the dogleg corner from left to right on the 10th hole.
Tom Hoge and Justin Lower were on the green when McIlroy’s ball landed, and one of their caddies walked over to check where the ball had come from.
McIlroy is currently first on the PGA Tour in shots taken from tee to green and is also first in total drives.
On Friday, McIlroy also expressed his opinion on how the PGA Tour can improve its competitiveness, saying he would welcome smaller courses to improve the historic golf tournament.
“No, I mean, I’m all for making it fiercer, more competitive,” he told reporters.
“I’m probably not very popular for saying this, but I’m all for fewer players and fewer TOUR cards, and the best of the best.”
