WGC Mexico Championship Round 2 Day 1: Thomas and Watson Lead by 2 Strokes at 4 Under Par, Defending Champ Johnson Struggles at 5 Over Par
Rory McIlroy raises his hand in response to the gallery's cheers at the 9th hole on the first day of the Mexico Championship. Mexico City, Mexico - Photo by Getty Images/Multivitz
[Asia Economy Kim Hyun-jun, Golf Specialist Reporter] "378-yard long drive power."
World No. 1 Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) is on a '2-win hunt.' On the 21st (Korean time), at the Chapultepec Golf Club in Mexico City, Mexico (par 71, 7,345 yards), where the World Golf Championships (WGC) Series Mexico Championship (total prize money $10.5 million) opened, he surged with a 6-under-par on the first day to immediately take the top spot on the leaderboard. Justin Thomas and Bubba Watson (both from the USA) are tied for 2nd place at 4-under-par. Korea's Im Sung-jae (22, CJ Logistics) is tied for 8th place at 2-under-par.
McIlroy combined one eagle, five birdies, and one bogey. Starting at the 10th hole (par 4), he made a spectacular eagle with a '2-on 1-putt' at the 11th hole (par 5), and gained momentum with a birdie at the 15th hole (par 5). In the back nine, after exchanging a birdie at the 2nd hole (par 4) and a bogey at the 4th hole (par 4), he finished brilliantly with a birdie at the 6th hole (par 5) and consecutive birdies at the 8th and 9th holes. It is interesting that he reduced four strokes on the three par-5 holes, powered by a maximum 378-yard long drive.
The fiercely contested Chapultepec course is situated at an altitude of 2,300 meters above sea level, where driving distance increases by 10-15%. Although McIlroy missed the green six times, attention should be paid to his perfect short game ability that saved his score five times. He added 'stingy putting' with an average of 1.67 putts per hole. Following his victory at the HSBC Champions in November last year, which is included in the 2020 season, this is already his second win of the season, and it is a great opportunity to achieve consecutive WGC Series victories.
Im Sung-jae is performing well, tied for 8th place at 2-under par on the first day of the Mexico Championship.
McIlroy won the 2014 FedEx St. Jude Invitational (then Bridgestone Invitational) and the 2015 Dell Technologies Match Play (Cadillac Match Play). This victory is said to be directly linked to the 'WGC Slam,' sweeping all four different WGC Series tournaments. Currently, only Dustin Johnson (USA) holds this rare record. He is also motivated by the revenge after finishing as runner-up last year.
Bryson DeChambeau (USA) appeared as a dark horse, tied for 4th place at 3-under-par, while 'Number 3' Jon Rahm (Spain) remained tied for 29th at 1-over-par. It was surprising that Johnson fell to tied 62nd at 5-over-par. He has been particularly strong in this tournament, winning three times in the past five years, including 2015, 2017, and last year. However, his iron shots faltered this day, resulting in one birdie, four bogeys, and one double bogey, losing five strokes and struggling to gain momentum.
Domestic fans are focusing their attention on Im Sung-jae. He finished his warm-up pleasantly with five birdies (three bogeys). An Byeong-hun (29) is tied for 55th at 4-over-par, and Kang Sung-hoon (33, both CJ Logistics), who finished runner-up at the Genesis Invitational that ended on the 17th, is tied for 62nd. Lee Tae-hee (36) recorded 80 strokes at 9-over-par, feeling the high wall of the 'world league' at tied 70th. He made one birdie, four bogeys, and three double bogeys at holes 1, 7, and 8.
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