‘I rode my luck a little’ says Rory McIlroy after opening round of US PGA Championship

The Co Down man is four shots behind Xander Schauffele, who equalled the lowest score in men’s major championship history for the second time in 11 months with a sparkling 62.

McIlroy, though, is right in contention after the opening day although the world number two sees room for improvement.

“I rode my luck a little bit,” McIlroy told Sky Sports. “I hope I can drive it like Rory in 2014 over the next few days as I didn’t drive it very well today.

“My fairway woods were okay. My scrambling and iron play is coming together so if I can do all that and hit fairways I am feeling pretty good.”

McIlroy, who announced his divorce from wife Erica on Monday, expects scoring to remain low at Valhalla even if the greens become a little firmer as the tournament progresses.

“The greens are really soft, especially for the guys that played last week at Quail Hollow where the greens were particularly firm,” McIlroy said.

“They could get a little bit firmer, so that could make it a little more tricky.

“But, even if the fairways dry out, the zoysia, the ball doesn’t really go anywhere when it lands. I could see it getting a touch firmer, but I still think it’s going to be pretty low scoring.”

Schauffele broke the course record of 63 set by Jose Maria Olazabal in 2000 as he fired nine birdies, reaching the turn in 31 and picking up further shots on the second, fourth and fifth.

A two-putt birdie on the par-five seventh took the Olympic champion to nine under par and he safely parred the final two holes to put down a marker.

“I’ve been playing some really good golf, having a lot of close calls, so me and my team say why not keep chugging along?” he said.

“I’m very happy with the way I played but I can’t really think much more about it, just got to go and tee it up again tomorrow.”