Rory McIlroy produced his worst score in close to a year in posting a horror 76 to trail 11 shots from the lead on day one of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.

The World No. 2 ignited hopes of something special in quickly taking to the overtaking lane on the famed ‘Burma Road’ course when he eagled the fourth and then birdied the next to be three-under par.

It prompted fellow Open Champion, fellow Irishman and playing partner, Shane Lowry at the time to comment:  “Look out, he goes Rory!”

Though the McIlroy wheels started to wobble when he bogeyed three holes in succession starting from the eighth hole to be back to level par.

Eagle three for @McIlroyRory 🦅#BMWPGA #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/ojXuKob4AS

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) September 19, 2019

McIlroy got a shot back with a birdie on the par-5 12^th hole but then came off the last in the proverbial golfing ambulance having played the last six holes in five-over par.

The past BMW PGA winner bogeyed 13 and 15 before sending his tee shot ‘OB’ left at the par-5 17^th in taking a double-bogey ‘6’ and then at the last he had spectators scattering in losing a ball right off the tee on route to a bogey ‘6’.

McIlroy emerged from the scorer’s hut and quickly looking for a way to the stately Wentworth clubhouse rather than run the gauntlet of the official 50-yard uphill pathway lined with autograph and ‘selfie’ hunters.

It is McIlroy’s highest score at Wentworth since a second round 78 to miss the cut in the 2015 while its his worst round since a 77 in last October’s WGC – HSBC Champions event in Shanghai.

Not near as disappointed but yet still hurting was Lowry who was two-under through nine holes but then completed the back-9 in one-over that included coming-up short with his third into the par-5 18^th and finding the water guarding the green for a bogey ‘6’.

“I got nothing out of that round to be honest,” he said.

“I hit some nice shots and burned the edge all day, and then go into the last with a lovely drive. I may have stroked the second shot a little bit. I hit a 5- iron to hit it past the flag and just mis-stroked a little bit. I thought it was half-decent.

“Yeah, I’m a bit frustrated because I could have shot a better score, but look, I feel like I played lovely out there. There’s a lot of positives to be taken away from it.”

The Open Championship grouping of Lowry, McIlroy and Francesco Molinari (69) drew tremendous applause all-round the course, and especially Lowry who was introduced on the first tee as ‘The Open Champion’.

“It was pretty cool to be honest. It was nice getting announced on the first tee and stuff,” said Lowry.

“I try not to think about it too much because I know I have a job at hand ahead of me but it is nice.

“But then at the end of the day we all want to go out and play well every day I go out.

“I’m going to have frustrating days like today and I’m going to have good days along the way so, hopefully I can do go out tomorrow and shoot a decent one and put myself into position going into the weekend.”

Padraig Harrington also was left short-changed in posting a one-over par 73 and then found himself after the round singing the praise of Norwegian-born playing partner, Viktor Hovland who produced a 69 on his Wentworth debut.

The 2020 European Ryder Cup captain’s only comment re his round of two birdies, a bogey and a very hurtful 12^th hole double-bogey was admitting to feeling tired.

“I just felt really tired out there and possibly it’s to do with my off the course workload this week,” he said.

“Then if you take off the double at 12 it would have been a pretty decent score.”

Greystone’s Paul Dunne is no closer to the form that won his a British Masters title in signing for a disastrous an eight-over par 80 to be official last in the now 131-player field.

Dunne birdied his closing two holes but the damage had been done earlier with six bogeys and double-bogeys at nine and 15.

Atop of the board is England’s Matt Wallace, who didn’t drop a shot in a blistering seven-under par 65 that included a stellar three-hole run where the World No. 26 eagled the fourth hole and birdied the next two.

Wallace heads the field by shot from the duo of Henrik Stenson and 2017 Irish Open winner, John Rahm, and with the Ryder Cup winning duo posting 66s.