Jordan Spieth put the PGA Tour on notice following his record breaking performance at the 2015 Masters. Unfortunately for Spieth, Rory McIlroy took notice.
The Players Championship Round 1 Recap
The current world No. 1 said the achievements of the 21-year-old inspired him to push harder to remain the game's best.
"I think everyone, not just me, but everyone on Tour was inspired by seeing Jordan do what he did at Augusta," McIlroy said (via CNN). "It's always nice to have people pushing you, and I feel like he's one of the guys doing that right now."
Said motivation allowed McIlroy to claim his 10th PGA Tour win at the WGC-Cadillac Match Play in San Francisco. He finished the first round of The Players Championship two shots off the lead held by Hideki Matsuyama, David Hearn, Kevin Na and Charley Hoffman.
Spieth, by comparison, finished with a round of 75. Not exactly the sharp start McIlroy believes he's enjoying.
"I did feel sharp," he added. "This is sort of the middle of a long stretch here. I have got three events in a row after this, so it's all about trying to conserve as much energy as possible and putting all that energy into the 18 holes that I'm going to play that day."
"If I can keep up my good play on the back nine like I have, and be a little bit more consistent like I was on the front nine, then hopefully that bodes well for the week.
"I felt conditions got quite tricky out there at the end with the wind. It swirls a lot around here and made club selection a little bit more difficult, but I'm happy with the start for sure."
McIlroy and Spieth both tee of the second round of The Players Championship at 1:49 p.m EDT.
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