Rory McIlroy toils on day one of Masters

Rory McIlroy struggled on the first day of the Masters as the world numer two carded a round of 71 to leave him one-under-par at Augusta National in Georgia.

The Ulsterman got off to a bad start as he posted a double bogey on the first hole after a wayward shot off the tee.

He made a birdie on the next hole, but the 22-year-old failed to move through the gears as he made par on three, four, five and six.

A pair of birdies put him on one-under after the back nine before bogeys on 11 and 13 saw him move back to one-over.

Despite the initial toil around the course, McIlroy ended the day on a positive note as two birdies put him on one-under.