Rory McIlroy Reconciled With His Wife Then Grabbed Co-Lead At U.S. Open

PGA Tour star Rory McIlroy apparently enjoys having drama surrounding his first round at major golf tournaments. The week of the PGA Championship, reports emerged that he and his wife, Erica Stoll, were getting divorced. 

Then, days before the start of Thursday's U.S. Open, the couple announced that they are not getting divorced. After the initial divorce news, McIlroy went out and shot 66 (5-under) in the first round of the PGA Championship. 

Just days after announcing that he is not getting divorced, McIlroy went out and shot 65 (5-under) in the first round of the U.S. Open. 

Rory McIlroy is the co-leader after the first round of the U.S. Open just days after announcing that he and his wife are not getting divorced. 

(Brendan Moran/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

There are several key differences, though, that make this round quite a bit better than the PGA Championship first round. Most importantly, McIlroy tied for the low round of the day and enters Friday as a co-leader alongside Patrick Cantlay. 

In the first round of the PGA Championship, McIlroy's great start had him tied for fourth place and four shots back of the lead. 

Additionally, McIlroy did not make a bogey during Thursday's U.S. Open first round, one of just two players to accomplish that. 

The other player was Sergio Garcia, which is interesting because of the history of the relationship between Garcia and McIlroy. See, McIlroy seems to like drama, right? 

Bogey-free first rounds have portended good things for McIlroy in his major championship career. 

Before we get too excited about the prospect of McIlroy finally capturing a major championship for the first time in 10 years, we must remember that McIlroy's problem has never really been the first round. It's been the other three rounds. 

Rory McIlroy got off to a hot start at the U.S. Open

This year, McIlroy shot a 71 in the first round of the Masters and was in the mix. But he followed that with a 77 on Friday to basically take himself out of it. 

At the PGA Championship, he followed his 66 with a 71 on Friday, once again basically taking himself out of contention. 

Last year, Rory McIlroy also shot a 65 in the first round of the U.S. Open and came oh-so-close to breaking his major championship drought. 

However, he couldn't quite catch Wyndham Clark, who beat McIlroy by one shot. 

Things are lining up for McIlroy at this year's U.S. Open, though. Last year, he trailed Clark by one shot after round one and then shot identical scores in each of the next three days. 

Rory McIlroy is the co-leader after the first round of the U.S. Open just days after announcing that he and his wife are not getting divorced.

(Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

Basically, he just couldn't quite catch and pass Clark. 

But this year, he's in a tie for the lead after one day. Not only that, but the hottest player on the planet, Scottie Scheffler, shot a 71 on Thursday during his first round at the U.S. Open. 

Plus, the second-hottest player in the world, Xander Schauffele, shot an even-par round of 70. 

That's not to say there aren't great players near the top of the leaderboard, but he's got a sizable lead over his two biggest competitors. 

But can he finish it, or are we headed toward another McIlroy meltdown? Still a lot of golf left to play, but at least his wife will be rooting for him this weekend.