Rory McIlroy hails 'a good day's work' as Northern Irish ace makes bogey-free start to Canadian Open hat-trick bid

Rory McIlroy hailed “a good day’s work” after the Northern Irishman started his bid for a hat-trick of RBC Canadian Open titles with a bogey-free four-under par at the Hamilton Golf and Country Club.

McIlroy celebrated success at the same venue in 2019 after finishing seven strokes ahead of Shane Lowry and Webb Simpson before defending his title at St George’s three years later with the competition taking a hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

After posting an even-par 35 through his first nine holes, the world number three then burst into life, producing four birdies, including two on the trot to finish the round in style and fire himself into contention once again.

The 35-year-old is looking to add a fourth title of 2024 to his collection, following on from victory at the Dubai Desert Classic, Wells Fargo Championship and Zurich Classic of New Orleans alongside Lowry.

With the Hamilton course being restored in recent years, McIlroy was playing it for the first time and admits he’s happy with the outcome.

“I played the back nine blind,” he told the PGA Tour’s website. “I hadn't seen the back nine.

"I only played the front nine in the pro-am. I was sort of happy enough to get out of there in even par and not make a bogey, but once I got that nine holes out of the way I knew there were some chances on that front side and played probably much better on that front side.

"Four birdies there, no bogeys, was a good day's work.”

McIlroy, who took time off to attend a friend's wedding in Italy last week, is looking to maintain his fine form.

“I've played a lot, but it's been good,” he added. “It's been – I've started to play my way into form and I've played well the last few weeks and hopefully I can just keep that going.

“The start of the year I was making some big numbers. There was a lot of volatility on the scorecard.

“To play bogey-free rounds is really nice again.”

McIlroy will get his second round underway at 5:55pm BST today.

Elsewhere, Tom McKibbin made a solid start to his European Open title defence by shooting an opening four-under while Stephanie Meadow was forced to withdraw prior to the US Women’s Open due to illness.