MEXICO CITY: Rory McIlroy was in control of all facets of his game as he charged into the first-round lead with a six-under-par 65 at the WGC-Mexico Championship on Thursday.

McIlroy smashed his drives prodigious distances in the thin Mexico City air and complemented his long game with precise putting in earning a two-shot advantage over Americans Justin Thomas and Bubba Watson at Club de Golf Chapultepec.

“I like this place, like the golf course, and have always played well at altitude for whatever reason that is,” said the world number one after capping off his day by sinking a 10-foot birdie at the last.

McIlroy won the World Golf Championships (WGC) tournament in Shanghai in November and victory this week would see him complete the set of all four WGC events.

The Northern Irishman has been in stellar form early in the new PGA Tour season, with a tie for fifth in Los Angeles on Sunday his worst result in four starts.

Accuracy from the tee is crucial at the tree-lined Club de Golf Chapultepec but McIlroy did not hold back, hitting three drives of more than 365 yards.

But it was his putting that pleased him most a week after an ill-fated experiment with a 35-inch model that was slightly longer than his usual putter.

At the other end of the field, defending champion Dustin Johnson ran up four bogeys and a double in a 76 that left him equal 62nd in the 72-man field.

Published in Dawn, February 22nd, 2020