Rory McIlroy ends first round at Memorial Tournament on a high as Northern Irishman chases maiden trophy glory

Rory McIlroy recovered from some mid-round adversity to start his bid for maiden Memorial Tournament glory with a positive two-under par, which leaves him four shots adrift of current leader Adam Hadwin.

The world number three enjoyed a steady front-nine, recovering from a bogey on the par-four second to regain the dropped shot at the fifth to head onto the second-half of his round with an even-par 36.

McIlroy’s back-nine had a bit of everything, starting with a birdie before following it up with a bogey at 11 and disaster struck shortly after as the 35-year-old posted a double-bogey on the par-three 12th.

However, the Northern Irishman bounced back in style, posting four birdies in the last six holes to finish on -2.

McIlroy has yet to taste success at The Memorial, which is held at the Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio and the winner will take home an eye-watering $4,000,000 this weekend.