The Northern Irishman finished his first round on seven-over-par 79, with two balls at the bottom of a lake, and facing a huge battle to make the cut.

McIlroy began on the back nine and made an immediate double bogey, but the round got worse when he sent two balls into the giant expanse of water to the left of the fairway at the 18th.

The four-time major winner gave himself a chance from close range to limit the damage to three shots, but McIlroy could not sink the putt.

Having also dropped a shot at the 13th hole – his fourth – it meant McIlroy reached the turn in seven-over-par 43.

He picked up shots at the 1st and 2nd to get back to five over, but further damage to his scorecard at the next two holes saw the 31-year-old return to seven over.

A third three-putt of the round on the 4th summed up McIlroy's misery, and although he soon picked up another shot and began to play steadily, more putting peril at the 9th, his final hole, inflicted yet more damage.

McIlroy was not alone in sending balls into the water.

England's Paul Casey took seven at the 17th, the famous par-3 island hole at Sawgrass, after going into the drink both off the tee and from the drop zone.

That outcome saw Casey plunge from two-under par to two over, but he steadied himself and finished with a one-over 73.

Henrik Stenson had an even worse day than his fellow European Ryder Cup stars, with an 85 from Sweden's former Open champion featuring two double bogeys, two triples and three balls in the water.

Sergio Garcia is the clubhouse leader after he fired a sparkling seven-under 65, with the Spaniard posting a pair of eagles in his round.

This tournament was called off after the first round last year because of COVID, with McIlroy the most recent champion in 2019 when he edged out Jim Furyk by one shot.