Putting woes back to haunt Rory McIlroy

Rory McIlroy is facing an uphill battle to maintain his brilliant record in the US PGA Championship after struggling to an opening 74 at Baltusrol.

McIlroy blamed poor putting for his failure to record a single birdie after four bogeys left him nine shots behind clubhouse leader Jimmy Walker, with England’s Ross Fisher and Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo a shot off the summit.

“Tee to green is not the problem, but when I get to the greens it’s a different story,” said McIlroy, 27.