Rory McIlroy says he is hopeful of improving after an underwhelming start to The Open at Royal Birkdale. All reports describe a day where McIlroy misses key chances and makes costly errors, leaving him off the pace by the end of his first round. The Independent reports he runs up six bogeys, while The42 adds detail from the putting statistics, noting he misses three putts from inside four feet and is 104th in the putting rankings at that point. The overall theme across the sources is that McIlroy attributes the poor performance to “stupid mistakes,” implying the issues are correctable rather than a deeper loss of form. While the articles focus on the first day only, they indicate McIlroy’s intention to respond with improved decision-making and execution in subsequent rounds. The reports do not cite a final overall score across all outlets, but they agree on the magnitude of the errors and the need for a quick recovery at the tournament.