Golf-McIlroy gets back in groove at Scottish Open

Rory McIlroy set the pace at the Scottish Open with a five-under 65, crediting his light schedule since the Masters for keeping him fresh and maintaining his enthusiasm.

Rory McIlroy set the early pace at the Scottish ​Open with a five-under 65 on Thursday and ​said his light schedule since retaining ‌his ​Masters title in April has kept him fresh. The Northern Irishman has played only twice outside of majors since Augusta but showed no sign of ‌rust as he shared the lead at the Renaissance Club.

"The benefits are seeing my family more, feeling like I have a bit more balance in my life," the world number two said. "I feel like even though ‌I have played pretty sparsely over the past few months, the starts of my tournaments have ‌all been really good. So it's not like I'm coming in and starting slow, and the little bit of extra practice I think actually helps. "One of the other benefits for me, I'm nearly 20 years into this, and I need to do ⁠everything ​I can to keep my ⁠enthusiasm as high as possible. Playing a lighter schedule does that."

The Scottish Open is the traditional warm-up event for the ⁠British Open, which begins next week at Royal Birkdale. McIlroy will be attempting to get his hands on the Claret ​Jug again having won it in 2014 along the coast at Royal Liverpool. McIlroy, starting at ⁠the 10th, was one under after nine holes but an eagle on the par-five first got him moving and he picked up ⁠birdies ​at the seventh and eighth.

"For the most part, I played well," the 37-year-old McIlroy said. "At this stage of my career, I really enjoy coming back here. It reminds me of why I started ⁠to play the game in the first place; links golf courses and the crowds are incredible. The ⁠crowds next week at ⁠The Open will be amazing as well." Also on five under were American Patrick Cantlay, Austria's Bernd Wiesberger and South Korean Kim Joo-hyung.

Reigning Open champion and world ‌number one Scottie ‌Scheffler was among the late starters.