We entered the US PGA Championship wondering where the week would take us in our bid to win a grand slam of major titles.   We had not factored in a visit to an Atlanta hospital.

That’s where Rory McIlroy ended up on Thursday evening after damaging a tendon in his right wrist hitting a shot close to a tree root.

Rory played 14 holes with the damage and then went for an MRI scan which showed that there was nothing career-threatening, but there was a problem.

It was a pity because Rory’s preparation for the last major of the season had been spot on and he was looking forward to a strong run.  It might still happen because he went out today with his wrist heavily bandaged hoping that he could pick up the pieces and get into contention.

We will watch with interest because there is still a long way to go at Atlanta Athletic Club.

Our front runner after day one was Simon Dyson, who is in a rich vein of form following his win in Ireland and three superb rounds in Akron.  Simon ended the day on two under, five behind Steve Stricker, who had a putt on the last green to record the lowest round ever in a major championship.

I expect more of our players to make significant moves today to get our slam bid back on track.  Watch this space for an update tomorrow.