RORY McILROY ticked off a “bucket list” experience by joining Borussia Dortmund's famous Yellow Wall - before hitting a bit of a brick wall at the Desert Classic.
McIlroy, who opened his bid for a hat-trick of titles by grinding out a two-under-par 70 said he had always wanted to taste the atmosphere of a Dortmund home game.
So he decided to stop off on his way to Dubai when he saw German team Dortmund were playing Bayer Leverkusen last week.
He said: “It was great fun, something I've always wanted to do. I've heard so much about the yellow wall and it was cool to experience it.
“The atmosphere was everything I expected - 25,000 fans and me and a couple of mates were right in the middle of it.
“It was insane, apart from Leverkusen going 2-0 up after five minutes, and holding on for a 3-2 win. But it was amazing to be there.
“Only three people recognized me - and they were from my mum's hometown, Lurgan! I said what the hell are you doing here, and they said they could ask me the same thing."
McIlroy struggled early as he slipped to one over par through eight holes in his first competitive round in nine weeks.
But the world No 3, who started on the tenth hole at the Emirates, grabbed three birdies to breathe new life into his hopes of becoming the first European golfer in 25 years to win the same event three times in a row.
He is five shots behind an unlikely trio of pace-setters Ricardo Gouveia, David Micheluzzi, and amateur David Ford.
McIlroy added: “It was a bit scrappy, to say the least, but I'm happy with how I managed my game and I got it around in a couple under.
“I did a good job of scrambling. I made a lot of key up-and-downs. The bonus of a chip-in on 7. But I don't want to have to rely on my short game the rest of the week like I did today.”
“So he got it off the ground and you've got to commend him for that. Now it's time for someone with a bit more experience in this to take over.
“I honestly don't know what the future holds for them, but the moves that they're making, especially from an executive standpoint, it doesn't look like they're going to go away any time soon.”
McIlroy, who opened his bid for a hat-trick of titles by grinding out a two-under-par 70 said he had always wanted to taste the atmosphere of a Dortmund home game.
So he decided to stop off on his way to Dubai when he saw German team Dortmund were playing Bayer Leverkusen last week.
He said: “It was great fun, something I've always wanted to do. I've heard so much about the yellow wall and it was cool to experience it.
“The atmosphere was everything I expected - 25,000 fans and me and a couple of mates were right in the middle of it.
“It was insane, apart from Leverkusen going 2-0 up after five minutes, and holding on for a 3-2 win. But it was amazing to be there.
“Only three people recognized me - and they were from my mum's hometown, Lurgan! I said what the hell are you doing here, and they said they could ask me the same thing."
McIlroy struggled early as he slipped to one over par through eight holes in his first competitive round in nine weeks.
But the world No 3, who started on the tenth hole at the Emirates, grabbed three birdies to breathe new life into his hopes of becoming the first European golfer in 25 years to win the same event three times in a row.
He is five shots behind an unlikely trio of pace-setters Ricardo Gouveia, David Micheluzzi, and amateur David Ford.
McIlroy added: “It was a bit scrappy, to say the least, but I'm happy with how I managed my game and I got it around in a couple under.
“I did a good job of scrambling. I made a lot of key up-and-downs. The bonus of a chip-in on 7. But I don't want to have to rely on my short game the rest of the week like I did today.”
“So he got it off the ground and you've got to commend him for that. Now it's time for someone with a bit more experience in this to take over.
“I honestly don't know what the future holds for them, but the moves that they're making, especially from an executive standpoint, it doesn't look like they're going to go away any time soon.”
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