PGA Championship: Rory McIlroy faces fight to make cut after poor opening day

Former world No 1 and double USPGA champion in danger of missing halfway mark for first time in tournament

Rory McIlroy endured a day to forget as the US PGA got under way on Thursday (Getty)

Rory McIlroy faces an uphill battle to maintain his brilliant record in the US PGA Championship after struggling to an opening 74 at Baltusrol.

McIlroy blamed poor putting for his failure to record a single birdie after four bogeys left him nine shots behind clubhouse leader Jimmy Walker, with England's Ross Fisher and Argentina's Emiliano Grillo a shot off the summit along with Martin Kaymer.

“Tee to green is not the problem, but when I get to the greens it's a different story,” McIlroy, 27, said. “I had a couple of chances early on that I could not convert and then missed a couple of greens and did not get up and down and I was always chasing it from there.

”I really struggled with the pace. They look much quicker than they are and two or three times I had putts within 12 feet that were downhill and left them short. I need to be more aggressive with my stroke, figure it out [on Friday] and shoot something in the mid-60s and get into the weekend. That's the first objective. I will stay as patient as I can and try to turn it around.”

McIlroy lifted the Wanamaker Trophy in 2012 and 2014 and has recorded three other top-eight finishes in seven appearances in the final major of the year.

The world number four was optimistic of turning what he called a B- season into an A+ by claiming his fifth major title on Sunday, but missed from 10 feet for birdie on the 10th - his opening hole - and even closer range on the 11th before dropping shots on the 13th and 14th.

The double champion has never failed to make the cut at the US PGA (Getty)

A poor tee shot into a greenside bunker on the 16th led to a third bogey of the day and McIlroy was frustrated not to take advantage of the 17th and 18th, the only par fives on the par-70 layout.

McIlroy's 77 on day three of the Masters in April was his first without a birdie in 80 major championship rounds and another followed as he followed a three-putt bogey on the second by lipping out from four feet on the sixth.

In contrast, Walker had carded six birdies and a solitary bogey in his 65, with Fisher completing his round with birdies on the 17th and 18th and compatriot Andy Sullivan picking up three shots in the last four holes to finish a shot further back.

“I feel like I've prepared and I'm ready to go this week,” Walker said. “It's nice that that's what showed today. I felt like I was ready to go. Winning a major would be huge but there's three days to go. I had not been making a lot of putts this year. Last weekend and today I felt like I was gaining some momentum and starting to see some go in. So it was nice to keep that rolling today.“