Rory McIlroy went out of bounds on his first shot of the British Open, then left his ball unplayable in thick brush near the green and ended up with a quadruple-bogey 8.
The 2014 champion holds the course record at Royal Portrush, shooting a 61 when he was 16 in the North of Ireland Amateur.
McIlroy went out of bounds left in an internal area of the course off the tee. After hitting his provisional left again into the rough, his approach cleared a bunker but landed in a patch of thick grass and he was forced to drop. He chipped onto the green but missed a 6-foot putt.
Heading into this year's tournament, the first in Northern Ireland since Royal Portrush hosted the event in 1951, McIlroy was considered to be a strong contender for a second British Open title.
