Inconsistency leaves Rory feeling blue

Rory McIlroy is driving as well as ever but his putting let him down on Thursday when he ended the first round of the Australian Open seven shots behind leader Adam Scott after shooting a three-under-par 69.

The world No 6's problems since changing his equipment this year have been well documented and he arrived at the Royal Sydney Golf Club this week still searching for his first title of 2013.

After Scott's brilliant round, McIlroy's chances of success in Australia already appear remote and the Northern Irishman was left ruing four missed short putts that could have made a huge difference to his score.

"Missed three or four short ones out there," he told reporters after signing for his card.

"Wasteful, yeah. I felt it could have been a lot lower. Off the tee, I'm driving the ball the best I ever have, it's just a matter of being more efficient and scoring better.

"That's really it. I only played the par-fives at one-under and the way I'm driving it, I should be playing those at four-under."

A missed birdie putt at the seventh and three-putt from the edge of the green at the 16th were the most obvious wasted opportunities, while a pair of bogeys shortly after the turn halted his momentum after a solid front nine.

INCREDIBLE YEAR

"I got the most out of it, especially after bogeys on 10 and 11, so to get in the 60s was decent," he added.

"It was nice to finish with a birdie at the last, makes up a little bit for not making birdie at 16."

McIlroy felt conditions may have been a little trickier for the late starters after US Masters champion Scott had posted his record-breaking 10-under-par 62 in the morning.

"The wind might have got up for us a little bit this afternoon but still 62 on that course is great going," McIlroy added.

"When I was sitting over breakfast, I saw he'd birdied the first six holes and thought, 'oh nice'."

Scott has had an incredible year, following up his Augusta triumph with a win at the Barclays and claiming the Australian PGA and Masters title before helping Jason Day win the World Cup of Golf for his country last weekend.

For McIlroy, it was a reminder of his 2012 season when he became world No 1 and won the US PGA and a string of other tournaments.

"He's doing what I did last year and (world No 3 Henrik) Stenson's doing the same thing," the 24-year-old said.

"I've been in that position before, I know what it's like. That's what I'm trying to get back to."

LEADING SCORES

62 - Adam Scott (AUS) (new course record)

65 - Ryan Yip (CAN), John Young Kim, (USA)

66 - David McKenzie (AUS)

67 - Jason Norris (AUS), Aaron Bradley (AUS), Jason Scrivener (AUS), Alistair Presnell (AUS)

68 - Scott Laycock (AUS), Steven Bowditch (AUS), Brady Watt (AUS), Anthony Brown (AUS), Matthew Jones (AUS), Steven Jones (AUS), Max McCardle (AUS)

69 - Nathan Holman (AUS), Rory McIlroy (NIR), Tom Bond (AUS), Adam Bland (AUS), Kalem Richardson (AUS), Richard Green (AUS), Josh Younger (AUS)

SELECTED OTHERS:

70 - Jason Day (AUS)

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Scott fires course record at Aus Open

Adam Scott shot a course record 10-under-par 62 in the first round of the Australian Open at Royal Sydney on Thursday but the world No 2 was left ruing a mid-round dip that prevented him from posting an even lower score.

Scott has been on fire on a valedictory tour of his homeland over the last few weeks, winning both the Australian PGA and Masters, and helping his country to hoist the World Cup of Golf in Melbourne last weekend.

The 33-year-old showed no sign of slowing down as he started his fourth event at the Royal Sydney Golf Course on Thursday, grabbing birdies on his first six holes, parring the middle eight and then picking up four shots on his final four holes.

The first streak of birdies had the US Masters champion contemplating the possibility that he might be about to join an even more select group of golfers, those who have shot rounds of 59 in professional tournaments.

"I wasn't thinking about it hard but I knew it was a possibility. Having birdied the six holes I birdied, I felt like all the opportunities were still to come," he said.

"So if I kept it going, and I had a good run around the turn, I felt it was on for sure."

It was not to be, though, and from his seventh hole - the 16th - Scott felt his swing desert him and was soon battling his frustration at being unable to continue his charge.

"It was a beautiful day for golf, I came out hitting great shots and didn't have much work to do to clean them up in the first five holes and had a nice putt on my sixth hole and I was really rolling at that stage," he said.

MOOD SWINGS

"But I think I've gone through a rollercoaster of emotion out there today from cruising after six holes to having to work pretty hard.

"Nothing much was going my way, I missed a green, felt like my swing was leaving me again, it's just amazing how in 18 holes you can do a 360 degrees of emotion and mood swings and everything."

Despite his success of the last few weeks, perfectionist Scott said he felt his swing had not been quite "in the slot" and revealed he had discussed his "sloppy" posture on the phone with his coach Brad Malone.

"It's a bit hard work for me at the moment," he said. "I still hit some great shots but a few average ones as well. But I got away with the bad ones today with some good saves."

It was all relative of course, and he continued to nail the four to five foot putts that punctuated his round before catching fire again at the sixth hole, his 15th.

Scott said the strong finish was essential to avoid wasting the opportunity his brilliant start had opened up, but part of him was still left contemplating how low he might have gone.

"I'm thinking about what today could have been, if I was really striking it and lost opportunities," he said.

Scott nevertheless said it had been one of the "best rounds" of his career, along with the round of 61 he hit to win the Qatar Masters in 2008 and a 62 he shot at the Memorial at Muirfield Village in 2007.

Thursday's round not only gave him a healthy early lead but also beat the course record of 65 held since the 2008 Australian Open by Stephen Dartnall, Matt Goggins, Ewan Porter, Chris Gaunt and Jason Norris.

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McIlroy sympathises with Trott

Rory McIlroy believes more players will suffer from stress-related conditions in future as the pressure in top-level sport continues to increase.

England cricketer Trott earlier this week left the country's squad currently on Tour in Australia in a bid to facilitate his recovery from a stress-related illness, and McIlroy, having struggled for form throughout 2013, can relate to the South African-born player's plight.

"As sport becomes so big it's becoming more common that these sorts of stress-related illnesses are happening," McIlroy told the BBC on Wednesday.

"It's sad to see something like that happen and it just shows what a mental toll sport can take on you sometimes.

"Hopefully he gets home and spends some time with his family and recovers and can come back."

Following his winless run in 2013, McIlroy has slipped down to number six in the latest world rankings, having started the year as the world's top ranked player.

His best finish this year was a second place at the Texas Open, and only a top 10 finish at the US PGA Championship added some gloss to an otherwise disappointing year.

"It's been a long year, I guess mentally more than physically," the 24-year-old continued.

"Physically, golf doesn't take that much out of you but mentally it's quite draining, especially this year for me.

"It's not just the golf and being frustrated with my game, but having to answer the questions and having to come up with reasons why I'm not playing well and all that stuff."

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Scott cards course record

Adam Scott carded a 10-under par 62 to claim a three-shot lead after the first round of the Australian Open on Thursday.

The Masters champion birdied the first six holes of his round en route to a new course record, smashing the previous record at Royal Sydney that was shared by Chris Gaunt, Matt Goggin, Stephen Dartnall, Ewan Porter and Jason Norris, by three shots.

After the opening six birdies, Scott scored pars on the next eight, before closing with four more successive birdies.

The round of 62 handed Scott and excellent opportunity to win all three majors on the Australian Tour in the same year, a feat only managed previously by Robert Allenby in 2005. The 33-year-old has already won the Australian Masters and PGA Championship this year.

"The longest putt I had on those opening birdies was about five feet," Scott said.

"I hit a lot of quality shots right out of the blocks this morning.

"I'm off to a good start, but a lot of work to do yet.

It's been a long time since I shot a low round like this. It's a tough setup but it was a perfect morning for it."

Three shots behind Scott after a round of 65 is unheralded Canadian player Ryan Yip, with Australia's David McKenzie another stroke further back on six-under after his round of 66.

Aaron Baddeley carded a 67 and is in a tie for fourth place alongside two more Australians, Jason Norris and Jason Scrivener, while a group of six players are tied on four-under.

Former world number one Rory McIlroy, still looking for his first win of 2013, had to settle for a three-under par 69.

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