RORY MCILROY ENDURED a forgettable opening day to the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, finishing with a four-over par 76.
The Northern Irishman, who finished second at this competition last year, began the day strongly: hitting eagle at the par-five fourth and birdie at the par-four fifth to leave himself a shot from the lead.
From there, however, he hit three straight bogeys on holes eight, nine, and 10.
Having birdied 12, he immediately bogeyed 13 and then did likewise on 15. Things would get worse from there: his tee shot off 17 went out of bounds and he ended up marking for a double-bogey. His tee shot went way right off 18, too, and he finished with another bogey for a four-over 76, fully 11 shots from leader Matt Wallace.
His playing partner Shane Lowry had a more serene experience, hitting two birdies and as many bogeys to finish level-par, seven shots from Wallace.
Ryder Cup captain Padraig Harrington, meanwhile, finished at one-over, birdies on four and 17 undone with a bogey on three and a double on the par-three 10th.
Paul Dunne is among the later starters, and the Wicklow native has endured a difficult start and played his first seven holes at plus-three.
Former Ireland performance analyst and current coaching wizard of OZ Eoin Toolan joins Murray Kinsella and Gavan Casey to predict Ireland’s World Cup, break down every pool, and call the overall winners.
The42 Rugby Weekly / SoundCloud
