Rory McIlroy struggles early on home turf It would be fair to say that Rory McIlroy has hit a rough patch. The No. 1-ranked golfer from Northern Ireland has won two of his last four tournaments but missed the cut at the BMW PGA Championship last week and got off to a horrendous start at the Irish Open on Thursday. McIlroy bogeyed five of his first nine holes on the way to a nine-over-par 80 in the first round at Royal County Down. "I think it's a little bit of everything," he said. "I just didn't play good enough today." With early play continuing, Alexander Levy held the lead in windy conditions at five-under. Soren Hansen and Bradley Neil stood one stroke back.