McIlroy still struggling to find the magic

For a second competitive round in succession, Rory McIlroy was looking and sounding despondent in not being able squeeze more out of his golf on the opening day of the Players Championship.

McIlroy birdied the opening two holes on each nine but let slip his good work when at five under par after 11 holes he bogeyed three of his closing seven holes in a two under par 70.

“I played pretty well for the first 11 holes, and played well pretty much the whole way around,” he said.