The Open: Rory McIlroy pleased with level par start

A card showing level par barely does justice to the twists and turns McIlroy’s round contained and he was pleased to come through it still in the hunt.

“I wouldn’t have been too happy walking off 18 after a bogey, especially after the two shots I hit in there,” he said.

“When you hit it into a bunker, you are riding your luck at that point and hoping it’s not against one of those faces. You are just hoping to make par and get out of there. From two-over through 12, I am pleased to get back to even for the day.”

McIlroy goes again from 9:58am on Friday alongside Jon Rahm and Justin Rose, both of whom finished three-over-par, and has the opportunity to put pressure on those in front of him.

“Hopefully I’ve got my eye in now and I can build on it in the next few days,” he added.

“It wasn’t the easiest of days but I’m still right in there. If I come out in the morning and shoot something in the 60s, I will be right in the mix.”