Rory McIlroy off to incident-packed BMW PGA Championship start at Wentworth

It has long been said that Rory McIlroy is “box office” and there was further proof of that on the opening day of the BMW PGA Championship.

Even for someone with such a great history in the game, his five-under-par 67 – his joint-lowest opening round at the event – is likely to rank as one of the more eventful in his career.

The biggest talking point came early on his back nine when the clubhead on his eight iron flew off after impact as he struck his second shot at the par-five 12th. And yet, despite that unusual occurrence, he still managed to finish eight feet away from the pin and go on to card a two-putt birdie.

Former professionals Anthony Wall and Wayne Riley, both working as on-course commentators, watched in disbelief, an emotion shared by McIlroy.

“I don’t think it has ever happened to me before,” said McIlroy afterwards.

“It was obviously a very weird feeling through impact. I looked up and the clubhead caught my eye instead of the golf ball, so I completely lost where the golf ball was.

“I didn’t know where it went… I was just looking somewhere around the green and saw the ball fall somewhere right of the green and go pretty close.

“Fortunately, it didn’t impact the shot too much. I got it repaired and it got back on the 16th. Thankfully didn’t need it for any of those holes in between.”

Earlier in the day on the eighth, McIlroy had found himself putting left-handed after making four birdies in a row before dropping a shot on the seventh.

“I was up against collar where that water hazard is on the eighth hole and didn’t really have a stance hitting it right-handed, so I had to hit a left-handed putt,” he reflected.

“At least I got the speed pretty much correct. I didn’t get the line right but knocked that one in and made par and very swiftly moved to the ninth tee pretty happy.”

By that stage, McIlroy, who narrowly missed out on winning the Amgen Irish Open on home soil last weekend, was among the early pacesetters on a sunny morning in Surrey.

And after the bizarre events of the 12th, he was out in front again when he made it back-to-back gains at the par-four 13th thanks to a 40-foot birdie putt.

But from there, as others around him also produced low scoring, the closing stretch of holes proved a challenge as he parred his subsequent four holes, including at the par-five 17th when his tee-shot ricocheted out of the trees.

There was to be further drama at the par-five 18th, when he went out of bounds with his approach from the middle of the fairway.

And yet, he nearly made par with his provisional ball as his chip shot from the rough at the back of the green hit the pin, leaving a tap-in bogey to conclude an entertaining start to his week.

“I’m pleased with it," said McIlroy of his performance.

"Maybe it could have been a little better, but it’s a really solid start.

"It’s a golf course where you have got a lot of birdeable holes but then there was a stretch, especially on the back nine today where you had some tough ones in a row and to navigate those was important.

"Overall, it is probably a fair reflection of how I played. Hopefully I go out tomorrow, shoot something similar [or] a little lower and have a real chance going into the weekend.”