Streaking McIlroy struggles, Van Pelt grabs lead

PARAMUS, Aug 22 (AFP): Top-ranked Rory McIlroy's bid to become only the fifth player to win four consecutive PGA events started poorly Thursday at the Barclays while American Bo Van Pelt took the lead.
McIlroy, coming off major victories at the British Open and PGA Championships, fired a three-over par 74 in the first round of the opening event of the US tour's season-ending playoffs at Plainfield Country Club.
That left the Northern Ireland star nine strokes adrift of Van Pelt, who opened with three birdies, added another at 16 from nine feet then eagled from 45 feet at the par-5 17th and finished on 65.
Van Pelt, whose lone PGA title in 13 tour seasons came at Milwaukee in 2009, owned a one-stroke edge over a pack that included England's Paul Casey, Zimbabwe's Brendon de Jonge and Americans Cameron Tringale, Ben Martin, Hunter Mahan, Charles Howell, Brendon Todd and Jim Furyk.
McIlroy, whose win streak also includes his first World Golf Championships triumph, managed to reach only half the fairways.
"I just wasn't very good," McIlroy said. "It's very important here, if you are going to miss greens, miss it in the right spots, because I missed it in the wrong spot a couple of times and it's really tough to get it up-and-down."
McIlroy, who began on the back nine, found the rough at the 12th hole, then a greenside bunker and then missed the green when he blasted out on the way to a double bogey that he followed with bogeys at 13 and 18.
McIlroy birdied the fifth, took a bogey at eight and closed with a 32-foot birdie putt at the ninth.
"I think it's more to do with just not putting the adequate time into my game over the past week for obvious reasons," McIlroy said.
McIlroy denied that fatigue was a factor, despite a whirlwind week that has seen him in Florida and Northern Ireland as well as in New York to handle sponsor commitments and television appearances.