CHARLOTTE, NC — Matt McCarty couldn’t stop birding.
Rory McIlroy thought he would never do it.
McCarty followed four straight top-25s on the PGA Tour with nine birdies at Quail Hollow to shoot an 8-under 63 on Thursday to take a one-shot lead over Sungjae Im at the Truist Championship before the round was called due to rain.
I was on his last hole when the sky opened. He, along with 19 others, will complete the round on Friday starting at 10:30 am ET.
Playing for the first time since winning his second consecutive Masters more than three weeks ago, McIlroy looked rusty at times on the course he dominated, winning four times while setting multiple tournament scoring records.
The world No. 2 made 17 straight pars to open the round before finally getting a birdie putt to drop to No. 9 and cheers by thrusting both arms up in the air mockingly.
“I thought I couldn’t remember the last time I played golf and didn’t make a birdie,” McIlroy said. “I think, ‘Just try to make one.’ I thought my chance had passed, but I’m glad to see one putt go in there.”
McIlroy finished with a 1-under 70, leaving him seven shots behind.
Five players are three shots back at 5 under including defending tournament champion Sepp Straka, Kristoffer Reitan, Nicolai Hojgaard, Harry Hall and Nick Taylor.
Cameron Young is back in contention, four shots back along with Tommy Fleetwood. Young was also on his last hole before the rain hit.
Young, who turned 29 on Thursday, continues to take his game to the next level. After going 93 games without a win, he has hit three wins in his last 14 starts, including last week at Doral.
McCarty was dynamite with his putter all day. He followed a 59-foot birdie putt on No. 16 with a 52-footer on No. 17 to the three difficult closing holes of Quail Hollow known as the Green Mile.
“I’ve been playing good golf the last few weeks,” McCarty said. “I wasn’t hitting very well early today but you hit a lot of 50-plus footers and it gets your day going. Hit it a lot better on the back 9 and it’s good to get a few homers for sure.”
As McIlroy struggled, it was an even more frustrating day for his playing partners Justin Rose and Matt Fitzpatrick, who made up the dominant team of the day.
Rose shot a 71 and was so upset with himself that he purposely dropped his team after following his shot. Then he stretched out his hands and looked at the stick, as if begging it to do its job.
Meanwhile, Fitzpatrick delayed his caddy after his fairway wood found water on the par-5 seventh hole leading to a bogey and a 3-over 74, leaving him 11 shots behind.
Fitzpatrick’s brother, Alex, fared better, shooting a 67.
The tournament was delayed several hours after a storm Wednesday night and Thursday morning dumped more than two inches of rain on the field.
McIlroy said it helped soften the greens, but he couldn’t help himself.
“The fairways are wet and the golf course plays a lot longer which should play into my hands,” McIlroy said. “I felt like I hit the ball well and hit enough good shots to be a little bit better than I was, but I got three more days to try to catch everybody.”
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
