Rory McIlroy in contention after first round of Canadian Open

He shot a 67 at Hamilton Golf and Country Club.

Starting his round at the 10th hole , McIlroy was two under par at the turn after birdies at 10, 14, 17 but dropped a shot at the 12th.

Back-to-back birdies at holes three and four had McIlroy -4 with five holes to play but a bogey at the seventh saw the Holywood man slip out of the top 10.

“I really feel like it was the worst I could have shot out there. I played very well,” McIlroy told reporters. “I hit it much better off the tee, and that was a big key. You have to play out of these fairways to give yourself chances.

“Definitely an improvement on how I played last week at the Memorial,” McIlroy said.

“A little bit of work that I did over the weekend and at the start of the week has seemed to fit in quite nicely. Obviously a lot of low scores. I felt like I could have gone a few lower, but it’s golf.”