Rory McIlroy shifts focus back to golf with fine start at The Open

The biggest damage was being done by the par-four 11th, which played the hardest hole on the course in the 2004 Open and had yet to yield a single birdie.

Rory McIlroy put the controversy over his views on the Olympics firmly behind him to make the ideal start to his bid for a second Open title.

McIlroy withdrew from the Games citing concerns over the Zika virus, but subsequently made it clear where Rio ranks in his priorities - saying he would not even watch the golf on TV, preferring "the stuff that matters."