Rory McIlroy has a 'rollercoaster' 1st round at the Australian Open, shoots 1-over 72

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Rory McIlroy had a self-described "rollercoaster" of a round Thursday at the Australian Open.

He wasn't exaggerating.

McIlroy, whose pre-tournament news conference included comments that Royal Melbourne was not the best sandbelt course in the city, had a wild round of six bogeys and five birdies around the composite course and shot a 1-over 72 to trail the leaders by seven strokes after the first round.

A case of the famed sandbelt course, which has hosted three Presidents Cup tournaments, biting back? The swirling winds — including gusts of up to 60 kilometers an hour (38 mph) — were certainly a factor.

“It was a rollercoaster day,” McIlroy said. “Every time I got a birdie or two I got a bogey or two. It wasn't terrible. I hit it in a couple of bad spots and had a couple of three-putts as well. I limited the damage. I hope the conditions are better tomorrow.”

For the record, the course McIlroy said was the best in Melbourne — nearby Kingston Heath — will host the Presidents Cup team event in 2028.

McIlroy, the Race to Dubai winner, is making his first appearance at the Australian Open since 2015 — he won it in 2013. He started off his round on the back nine with a birdie on the 10th hole followed by two bogeys.

That was just the start of his topsy-turvy round.

His sixth bogey of the day came at the 135-meter (148-yard) par-3 seventh hole, his 16th, but at least he was in good company. His playing partners — Adam Scott and Min Woo Lee — also had 4s.

Scott and Lee each shot 69 to trail by four strokes. The trio teed off at 7 a.m. and had thousands of fans following them.

“It was amazing, I couldn’t believe how many people were there,” McIlroy said of his early-morning entourage. “There are events in golf that means a little bit more. I think people in Australia take so much pride in this event.”

Scott felt the same.

“I mean, playing with Rory and Min and fighting to get to the 10th tee this morning with the crowds was good fun,” Scott said. “But the course held up well even in some of the most challenging wind I’ve probably ever played out here. Testament to the course and it’s great for the tournament.”

Elvis Smylie, the left-handed Australian who won last year's Australian PGA tournament, New Zealander Ryan Fox and Carlos Ortiz of Mexico, who eagled his second-last hole, the 17th, led by two strokes after the first round with 65s.

Cameron Smith, trying to avoid missing his eighth consecutive cut, bogeyed two of his final three holes and had a 70.

“I feel like I did pretty good today . . . made all the putts I was supposed to make and I probably left a couple out there, but it is what it is," Smith said.

Smylie took advantage of a fortuitous bounce when he hit a spectator.

Playing on the par-four 1st hole — his 10th — Smylie’s wayward shot over the green hit a spectator before rolling back into position for him to make birdie.

“The wind was whipping off the left and I just kind of didn’t cut it up enough and I think it hit his foot,” said Smylie. “I don’t think it hit him hard fortunately, and then it ricocheted to about five foot and I was able to roll that in.

“So I think when things like that happen, you just know that the golf gods are on your side for the day.”

David Puig, who won last week’s Australian PGA at Royal Queensland in Brisbane, shot 74.

The winner of the Australian Open, which is the second event on the European tour's new schedule of tournaments for late this year and 2026, receives a Masters exemption next year. And the top three finishers not already exempt will qualify for the British Open in 2026 at Royal Birkdale.

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Adam Scott of Australia on the 9th Hole after completing his 1st round during the first round of the Australian Open golf tournament in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

Ryan Fox of New Zealand reacts during the first round of the Australian Open golf tournament in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

Elvis Smylie plays an approach shot on the ninth Hole during the first round of the Australian Open golf tournament in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

Min Woo Lee, of Australia, tees off the 10th hole during the first round of the Australian Open golf tournament in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

Adam Scott, of Australia, reacts after missing a putt on the 10th hole during the first round of the Australian Open golf tournament in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, tees off the 12th Hole during the first round of the Australian Open golf tournament in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, tees off the 11th hole during the first round of the Australian Open golf tournament in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

Rory McIlroy. of Northern Ireland, reacts after putting on the the 11th hole during the first round of the Australian Open golf tournament in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

KHARKIV, Ukraine (AP) — When Russia’s full-scale invasion began nearly four years ago, a 26-year-old soldier known as Monka didn’t see a combat role she could do. But that changed as technology reshaped the battlefield and opened new paths.

Last year, she joined the military as a pilot of short-range, first-person view, or FPV, drones after giving up a job managing a restaurant abroad and returning home to Ukraine to serve.

Her shift is part of a larger trend of more women joining Ukraine's military in combat roles, a change made possible by the technological transformation of modern warfare, military officials say.

“The fact that technology lets us deliver ammunition without carrying it in our hands or running it to the front line — that’s incredible,” said Monka, who serves in the Unmanned Systems Battalion of the Third Army Corps. She and other women followed Ukraine’s military protocol by identifying themselves using only their call signs.

More than 70,000 women served in Ukraine's military in 2025, a 20% increase compared with 2022, including over 5,500 deployed directly on the front line, according to Ukraine’s Defense Ministry.

Some units have tailored recruitment efforts toward women, expanding rosters in a sign that Ukraine is looking to strengthen and expand its army even as peace negotiations weigh a possible cap on the future size of the military.

Leaders in the capital Kyiv, as well as many soldiers like Monka, see the army as one of the few security guarantees that Ukraine has against Russia.

“We need everyone — engineers, pilots, IT specialists, programmers, we simply need brains. It’s not about men or women. We need people who are ready to work hard,” she said.

A drone pilot is one of the Ukrainian military's most popular combat professions chosen by women, military officials said.

When Imla from the Kraken 1654 unit left her career as a professional hockey player to join the military, the 27-year-old initially planned to become a combat paramedic.

She spent her first six months as a platoon medic, but the job required learning to fly drones. She started with small ones before moving to larger models carrying bombs and eventually switching to full-time drone work.

Imla clearly remembers her first drone flight, a reconnaissance mission. When they handed her the controller, she was so nervous her hands wouldn’t stop shaking.

“To be honest, I even wanted to cry in some moments,” she recalled. “But then, over time, you build up experience on the job and start feeling confident.”

The Khartiia Corps has taken more women into its ranks, reporting a 20% increase since 2024. About six months ago, the brigade launched a recruitment campaign aimed at women for combat and technological roles in cooperation with the Dignitas Foundation, a charity organization supporting Ukraine by funding technological innovation and civic development projects.

“In recent months, dozens of women have joined us in combat roles and are working successfully,” said Volodymyr Dehtyarov, the Khartiia Corps public affairs officer. “The more technology we have, like drones, the more historically male professions open up."

Khartiia has started training officers and future commanders on how to work with mixed units including people of different ages, genders and backgrounds, which Dehtyarov said helps commanders become more effective leaders.

The Ukrainian army remains conservative at its core and some units don’t make it easy for women.

A 25-year-old soldier with the call sign Yaha joined the military in 2023 and initially did paperwork as an army clerk. Three months later, she began asking to attend drone courses. Commanders at the time did not respond with enthusiasm and instead suggested she replace the cook.

“It was unpleasant for me, because I didn’t expect such uncomfortable conditions, such strict limitations,” Yaha said.

In the kitchen, she spent her free time studying drone manuals, practicing on a simulator and training in computer clubs with a controller she bought herself.

“I liked that you could strike the enemy remotely,” she said. “So I thought this was our future.”

Eventually, she became a bomber-drone pilot in the 9th Brigade.

“War is not cool or glamorous. It’s pain, suffering and loss. You just do it because you want to change the situation," she said. "But you’re not invincible. You’re just a person like everyone else."

Chibi, a 20-year-old FPV technician from the Khartiia Brigade, prepares drones for the battlefield from a dark damp basement near the front line in eastern Ukraine.

She initially faced prejudice from soldiers who claimed she had inferior technical skills because she was a woman. But she also had a supportive male colleague who helped her take the first steps toward becoming an FPV technician, which she finds more interesting than being a pilot.

“There needs to be more women in the army," Chibi said, her hair dyed pink and dark blue. "The more women there are, the better the attitude toward them will be.”

Olha Meloshyna, the spokesperson for Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, says the belief that drone roles are safer is wrong, as Russians actively hunt drone operators.

Their unit is seeing more women move into technological roles, including drone operation, drone repair and electronic warfare, as drones have become one of the main tools of striking and reconnaissance on the battlefield.

According to Meloshyna, 4.2% of the Unmanned Systems Forces are women, a number she considers significant because women enlist voluntarily.

“We are part of the new Ukrainian army that formed during the invasion. So in terms of gender-based acceptance into the Armed Forces, we have never had any division — what matters to us is desire and motivation,” she said.

She said that they are now conducting a more media-focused recruitment campaign, inviting and planning to recruit 15,000 people to join, including women. Recruiters say that women are applying for both combat and noncombat positions.

“The Unmanned Systems Forces are a system, and it is made up of people — men and women,” Meloshyna said. “No drone is autonomous. It needs human involvement. And the more personnel we have, the more drones will fly toward Russia.”

Chibi, a Ukrainian soldier from the Khartia brigade, tests a drone, Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, in Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Monka, a Ukrainian FPV drone operator from the third assault brigade, pilots an FPV drone during a demonstration for The Associated Press, Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025, in Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Monka, an FPV drone operator from the third assault brigade, assembles an FPV drone during a demonstration for The Associated Press, Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025, in Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

A Ukrainian soldier from the Khartia brigade, callsign Muza, jumps down from a tank following a demonstration for The Associated Press, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025, in Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

A Ukrainian drone operator from the Kraken 1654 unit, callsign Imla, flies a Vampire drone during a demonstration for The Associated Press, Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025, in Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)