The 28-year-old Ulsterman may not have received the memo, as he scuffled to a 5-over score on his first six holes at the Open Championship before settling in to finish the day at 1-over 71.
"It was on the sixth tee".
"I got off to a good start, which was important. At that point I mumbled and said "Whatever" but it definitely helped".
That deficit was dramatically halved on Friday when McIlroy picked up shots at the first and third holes before a stunning approach to the sixth set up only the second birdie of the day at a hole that was proving fiendishly hard for most of the field.
"I hit some quality shots out there, I saw a lot of better iron shots and saw some really good putts going in so I was happy to see that and I just have to try to keep that going for the next two days".
Then McIlroy's caddie, J.P. Fitzgerald, prodded him along, barking at the four-time major champion on the sixth, "You're Rory McIlroy, what the -- are you doing?" So often McIlroy has gone in the opposite direction. "It's just whether it penetrates my head is a different thing". And he knows what to say out there and what not to say.
"I'm really happy with what I've done this afternoon after the start, said the 2014 victor at nearby Hoylake".
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|By Simon Evans
As players struggled to combat the windy conditions, McIlroy - at times changing his strategic game plan to include the driver rather than the 1-iron he'd meant to use off the tees pre-championship - used the elements to his advantage, and also showed greater confidence with the putter than has been the case in recent weeks. He failed to make a birdie on the front-nine and was already 10 strokes off the lead after espousing optimism one day earlier.
McIlroy was then forced into scrambling mode in the tough conditions after the turn, but he holed clutch putts for par at the 11th and 12th and saved another from sand at the next, although he came up short with his second to 14 and dropped his first shot for 24 holes.
He didn't have the same fortune on Nos. I had a good pitch shot on the seventh and even though it didn't hit the green it was a better strike, a better golf shot.
"I give myself a B grade today", Spieth said.
However, the Northern Irishman was in stunning form on the back nine, making birdies at the 11th, 15th, 17th and 18th to leave him just one-over going into Friday's play. The thoughts that I might have had when I won at Hoylake mightn't work for me now.
The 2014 champion moved to one-under for the tournament after a round of 68 which threatened to be even better after three birdies over the first six holes that had given him so many problems on Thursday.
"I was nervous going out, a little anxious, timid, just (did) not really (have) as much belief in myself as I should have had".
Tyler O'Neill is traded to Cards
As one of the top prospects in the Mariners' organization, O'Neill was used to bring over southpaw Marco Gonzales from St. He's now on pace for another solid season of home run hitting with 19 home runs so far in the Pacific Coast League.
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