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.

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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)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump was set to address the nation Wednesday night and offer an update on the war in Iran, his first prime-time speech since launching strikes alongside Israel more than a month ago.

The speech will offer Trump a wide audience to articulate clear objectives for the war that could attempt to reconcile weeks of changing goals and often contradictory messages about whether he’s winding down or ready to escalate military operations — even as Iran kept up its attacks on Israel and Persian Gulf neighbors and airstrikes pounded Tehran.

It comes amid rising oil prices, volatile financial markets and polling showing many Americans feel the U.S. military has gone too far in Iran — even as more American troops move into the region for a possible ground offensive. Trump opted not to deliver such an address closer to when the U.S. and Israel first launched attacks, and questions now remain about whether it is now too late for what he says to break through.

A White House official, who was not authorized to speak publicly ahead of the address and spoke on condition of anonymity, said the president will talk about U.S. progress on achieving his goals in Iran and will reiterate his estimated timeline for concluding operations within two to three weeks.

The president, in comments during a Easter lunch on Wednesday afternoon, said of Iran: “We could just take their oil. But you know, I’m not sure that the people in our country have the patience to do that, which is unfortunate.”

“Yeah, they want to see it end. If we stayed there, I prefer just to take the oil,” Trump said. “We could do it so easily. I would prefer that. But people in the country sort of say: ‘Just win. You’re winning so big. Just win. Come home.’ And I’m OK with that, too, because we have a lot of oil between Venezuela and our oil.”

The media was not permitted to watch the president’s remarks at the lunch, but the White House uploaded video of the speech online before taking it down. The White House did not return requests for comment from The Associated Press on the video and why it was taken down.

In a social media post earlier Wednesday, Trump maintained a belligerent tone, demanding that Iran stop blocking the Strait of Hormuz — the waterway vital to global oil supplies — or the U.S. would bomb the Islamic Republic “back to the Stone Ages.” The president has also said the U.S. “will not have anything to do with” ensuring the security of ships passing through Hormuz, an apparent backtrack from a previous threat to attack Iran’s power grid if it didn’t open the strait by April 6.

In the same Easter lunch, the president reiterated some of his complaints about NATO allies for their reluctance to get involved in securing the Strait of Hormuz while suggesting that China, Japan and South Korea could also step up to reopen the waterway.

“Let South Korea, you know, we only have 45,000 soldiers in harm’s way over there, right next to a nuclear force -- let South Korea do it,” Trump said of efforts to reopen the strait. “Let Japan do it. They get 90% of their oil from the strait. Let China do it.”

In another morning social media post, Trump wrote that “Iran’s New Regime President” wanted a ceasefire. It wasn’t clear to whom the U.S. president was referring since Iran still has the same president. Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmail Baghaei, called Trump’s claim “false and baseless,” according to a report on Iranian state television.

Speaking earlier to Al Jazeera, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi signaled Tehran’s willingness to keep fighting. “You cannot speak to the people of Iran in the language of threats and deadlines,” he said. “We do not set any deadline for defending ourselves.”

Hours before Trump’s address, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian posted a lengthy letter in English on his X account appealing to U.S. citizens and stressing that his country had pursued negotiations before the U.S. withdrew from that path. “Exactly which of the American people’s interests are truly being served by this war?” he wrote.

Since the war began on Feb. 28, Trump has offered shifting objectives and repeatedly has said it could be over soon while also threatening to widen the conflict. Thousands of additional U.S. troops are currently heading to the Middle East, and speculation abounds about why.

Trump has also threatened to attack Iran’s Kharg Island oil export hub. And the U.S. could decide to send in military forces to secure Iran’s uranium stockpile — a complex and risky operation, fraught with radiation and chemical dangers, experts and former government officials say.

Adding to the confusion is what role Israel — which has been bombing Iran alongside the U.S. — might play in any of these scenarios.

Trump has been under growing pressure to end the war that has been pushing up the cost of gasoline, food and other goods. The price of Brent crude, the international standard, is up more than 40% since the start of the war.

The U.S. has presented Iran with a 15-point plan aimed at bringing about a ceasefire, including a demand for the strait to be reopened and for its nuclear program to be rolled back.

Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful. And in a report last week by Iranian state TV's English-language broadcaster, an anonymous official was quoted as saying Iran had its own demands to end the fighting, including retaining sovereignty over the strait.

In the interview with Al Jazeera, Araghchi acknowledged receiving direct messages from U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff. He insisted, however, that there were no direct negotiations and said Iran has no faith that talks with the U.S. could yield any results, saying “the trust level is at zero.”

He warned against any U.S. attempt to launch a ground offensive, saying “we are waiting for them.”

In a deal ostensibly to give diplomacy a chance, U.S. officials have given “clear assurances” that Araghchi and Iran's Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf won't be targeted, according to three officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they're not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.

Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Rising reported from Bangkok. Associated Press writers Giovanna Dell’Orto in Miami, Farnoush Amiri in New York and Samy Magdy in Cairo contributed to this report.

A rainbow forms over the White House on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

A young girl is comforted by her father and Israeli soldiers as they take cover in a bomb shelter during air raid sirens warning of incoming Iranian missile strikes in Bnei Brak, Israel, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

People inspect the site of an Israeli strike amid debris and damaged vehicles in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

A man feeds stray cats in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

The Indian flagged LPG carrier Jag Vasant transporting liquefied petroleum gas, is seen at the Mumbai Port in Mumbai, India, after it arrived clearing the Strait of Hormuz, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

Firefighters and rescue workers work at the site of Israeli airstrikes, in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A firefighter extinguishes a car at the site of Israeli airstrikes, in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

Israel's rescue teams and residents take shelter as sirens sounds next to a site struck by an Iranian missile in Bnei Brak, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

A police vehicle is seen through a shattered windshield at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Two men ride scooters past charred debris at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)