Rory McIlroy left Hazeltine National on Thursday evening satisfied with an opening-round 71 on his US PGA Championship debut.

The 20-year-old from Northern Ireland, ranked 29th in the world, started strongly on the par-72, 7,674-yard Minnesota course, the longest in major championship history, sinking three birdies in his first six holes having started on the back nine. Two bogeys followed around the turn but the Dubai Desert Classic winner steadied the ship to come home with eight consecutive pars.

"I felt as if it was a very solid round," McIlroy said. "It was quite the opposite to what I was playing like last week, which was nice to turn it around."

He added: "I got off to a great start, three under through six, and I wasn't able to keep that going but I felt as if I played very solid.

"So I was happy with one under. It could have been a little better but I'll take it."